Life of a WolfGirl
by Evalyd Yamazaki
Summary: The way he was staring at me reminded me of a baby opening it's eyes for the first time, mouth open and eyes wide. And then he dropped his hotdogs, splattering chili and relish all over my favorite pair of boots. A JacobxOC imprint story.
1. Arrival

**I don't know why I decided to write a Twilight story. I blame it on my friends for draging me to the first part of Breaking Dawn and I hate them for it. I was trying so hard to not surcome to the Twilight mania, but alas, my efforts have been in vain. Anyway, this story was written as a result of me not liking how Jacob imprinted on Nessie. Does anyone else think that was unfair? Nothing against Nessie, but I just felt Jacob deserved an actual relationship with someone after what Bella put him through. So this is what I thought up. Oh, and just to let you know, this story takes place _after_ Breaking Dawn. Like, maybe a year afterward.**

**Disclamier: I do not own Twilight. All things Twilightie belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

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><p>"<em>Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat"-<em>Theodore Roosevelt

_ -Never fear the shadows. They simply mean there's a light nearby-_

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><p>When I was fourteen I started my first year of high school. That was also the same year I became obsessed with the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. Armand and Lestat were my two favorites. I thought how cool it would be to meet an actual vampire, to talk to them and be their friend. Maybe even fall in love with one and become one. In the back of my head I knew they were just made up stories, but I was fourteen, and I liked to believe they were real. It wasn't until I graduated, when I was seventeen that I actually, truly believed in them. And it was one year later, when I was eighteen that I discovered that the world was much bigger than I realized and that there were more things out there than just one lone vampire.<p>

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><p>The air in La Push felt colder than I remembered it. But then again, I only ever spent one week every summer here during my childhood, and it tended to be just a bit warmer during the summer months. It was the beginning of September now, and I was surprised that it wasn't pouring rain as usual. In fact, it was actually kind of sunny, with a light cloud cover. I could even see pieces of blue sky peeking through every once in a while.<p>

I stared up at the sky as we headed towards my father's house. Like I said, I had spent one week here every summer since I was in elementary school. Except last year, but that was something I didn't get into. In fact the whole reason I was going to be living with my father for the next year was something I didn't want to get into. It would only give me pitying looks and isolation.

"Are you excited to see your father?" My mom, May, asked from the driver's seat.

I shrugged. "A little. I guess."

Actually I was feeling a little uncomfortable seeing him. My father and I had run out of things to talk about when I was about thirteen. I didn't know what mom's angle was, sending me to live with him for a whole year. So I asked her.

"Why do you want me to live with him again?"

She sighed. "We talked about this, Gwen. This past year has been hard for you. Ever since the"- she paused as we both swallowed thickly-"incident…you haven't been yourself. Dr. Collins and I both agree that maybe living with your father in a smaller town will help you heal. Get back to normal again."

I didn't understand the logic. What difference did it make if I lived in a big city or a small town? How would this help me "heal", as Dr. Collins had put it? Dr. Collins, my psychologist, who also happens to be my mother's boyfriend. If I didn't know any better, I would say he was just trying to get rid of me so he wouldn't have to listen to my ravings and spend more time sucking my mom's face.

I rubbed my chest, just above my left breast. It was always just a little bit colder there than on the rest of my body. Every time someone brought up the "incident" as we began to call it, that spot would always ache just a little. And I would remember.

"It still doesn't make any sense." I muttered. "Dr. Phil's full of shit and you know it."

"Gwen, his name isn't Dr. Phil." Mom scolded reproachfully. "How many times have I asked you to stop calling him that?"

"He might as well be. Always asking me about my feelings. Like he cares."

"He does care, Gwen. He's been trying to help you this past year. We both are." She said, sadly.

"Maybe in the beginning he was. But now he just humors me, talking to me like I'm some sort of little kid with an over-active imagination." I growled angrily. "And you're the same way sometimes."

"Rick says that your delusion is a result of your imagination." She said quietly. "A way to coop with what happened."

I rolled my eyes, feeling that familiar boiling of anger in my chest. "Oh, well if _Rick_ knows best. Which he doesn't! He wasn't there! He didn't see what I saw! I'm not deluded!" I said loudly, on the verge of yelling.

Mom sighed, not saying anything, as usual when I was about to explode. I really wanted her too; I really wanted to pick a fight. But when she remained silent, I focused on not punching the dash board.

The remainder of the ten minute ride was filled with a tense silence. When we finally pulled into Dad's gravel driveway I was surprised to see him sitting on his front stoop, waiting for us, his blood hound Shep lying next to him.

My father, Jack Willows, was a quiet, hardworking man, the complete opposite of my mother and me. He was full-blooded Quileute, and like most Quileute men, was tall, with a slim build and shiny black hair. He had a light scar on his chin, and a few on his arms and hands, the results of him going through a sliding glass door while playing football with some friends when he was younger. His eyes were wide and kind looking, with soft laugh lines around them. Even if they were nothing alike, I could see why my mom had fallen in love with him. My father was a handsome man, even at the age of fifty-two.

He stood when we got out of the car, and I surprised myself, and my mother I'm sure, when I actually ran to hug him. He opened his arms and I ran into them, wrapping my arms around him and inhaling his scent of coffee and aftershave.

"Hey there, kiddo." He laughed in that same clear voice I remembered. "It's been awhile, huh?"

"Yeah." I whispered, pulling back to look at him. "Are you getting a beer belly?" I asked, motioning to his stomach, which was a little fuller then I remembered.

He chuckled, rubbing his belly. "I hope not. But you know I'm not as active as I use to be."

"Hello, Jack." My mom said as she came forward. She was smiling, but it was tense.

Dad smiled back, his much more natural looking. "Hey, there May. How have you been?"

"I've been better. It's been a hard year." She said, glancing at me. I simply glared at her, feeling that familiar spark of anger.

"Why don't you both come inside?" Dad said, putting a hand on my back. "You both look like you could use a break."

I caught his unspoken words- _from each other_. Suddenly, spending a year in La Push didn't seem so bad.

Mom left the next day, but not before having a few "quiet" discussions with my dad. I say "quiet" because I tried to spy on every one of them, even though I knew what she was going to talk to him about. Me being crazy. To keep an eye on me, but help me branch out again. To not let me lock myself in my room for days on end. To make sure I ate every day. To make sure I actually got out of bed. To make sure I actually went to bed and slept. Things most people did every day, things I use to do, but had stopped doing a year ago.

I rolled my eyes, sitting on the stoop with my chin in my hands and Shep's big head in my lap. Mom was telling him all this again as she stood in front of her car, preparing to leave. I wasn't that bad any more. I still ate and slept. Not much, but I did it. I was better now, than in the beginning, when I didn't even want to get out of bed.

Sitting there and watching them, I noted the physical similarities I had with my parents. Dad was Quileute and Mom was a "pale-face" of many different heritages. I had Dad's hair, straight and thick, black, and his wide dark eyes. But I had Mom's facial and body size, small but sturdy. My skin tone was a mixture of both of them, like coffee with too much cream in it. I thought my skin was pretty, except for those purplish circles that had developed under my eyes this past year. I often got asked what my nationality was. I just answered with "mutt."

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Mom turned to look at me. I pushed Shep's big doggy head off my lap and went to hug her. I was still a little mad at her, but I wasn't about to let her go and not see her for a year without a goodbye hug.

She hugged me tightly, nearly suffocating me. "I know you're upset with me," she said, "but I know you'll get better here. I can feel it."

I still didn't believe her, but I nodded against her, feeling the sudden urge to cry.

"Promise me you'll do your best." She said, her voice wavering a little.

I nodded again, struggling to keep the tears back. "Okay."

"Love you. Miss you." She said, pulling away and wiping her eyes.

I nodded. "You to, Mom." I said, swallowing thickly as she got into the car.

Suddenly, a loud, piercing howl broke the emotional silence, making all three of us jump.

"Since when have there been wolves around here?" Mom asked, shooting an alarmed look toward the forest. "That sounded really close."

Dad shrugged, but he suddenly looked a little un-nerved. "There have always been wolves around here, May. We do live in an au natural place." He chuckled.

"Right." Mom gave me a look, buckling up her seat belt. "Stay out of the woods." Her tone was that of a mom giving a warning.

I nodded. "Be safe, Mom. Call me when you get back to LA."

She smiled. "I will. You be safe to, sweetheart. I'll see you soon."

Dad and I watched her rental car drive down the road until it disappeared from sight. Then the awkwardness set in.

"So what would you like for dinner?" Dad asked as we walked back inside.

"I don't know. I don't really have a taste for anything." I replied.

"Well, why don't you think about it until then? I have to make a quick phone call." He said, patting me on the back.

I watched as he disappeared back into his own room, shutting the door behind him. I watched the door for a second, not quite sure what I was waiting for. But when nothing happened, I sighed and went into my own room to unpack.

My room was pretty plain, since I only ever spent a week out of the year here. I had a dresser, a twin bed, an old TV set, and a large window that faced the side of the house, looking directly into the forest. I use to keep my curtains closed around it all the time when I was a kid because the forest always freaked me out. I even had a night-light, still lying on my dresser from the last time I was here when I was sixteen. Even then I was afraid of the dark. I remember how pathetic I had thought I was, afraid of the dark at sixteen, so I had unplugged it, tossing it on my dresser to throw out later.

Snatching it off the dresser, I plugged it back in, glad that I hadn't trashed it.

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><p>Two hours later I came out of my room to find Dad sitting on the couch, watching M*A*S*H*. He smiled when he saw me.<p>

"Hey, kiddo. Get everything set up?"

I nodded, sitting down next to him. "Yeah, but I was wondering if we could go into Forks soon. I need a bookshelf for my books. And maybe some shelves."

"Sure. I have to work tomorrow, but how about Sunday? We can get anything you need."

"That's fine."

"By the way, how would you feel about going to a bonfire tonight?" He asked casually.

I looked at him cluelessly. "A bonfire? People still have thoughs?"

He chuckled. "Of course. Some kids your age will be there, along with some of my old friends. You should come; I want to re-introduce you to everyone."

"Dad, it's been a year since I've been here. And even then it was only for one week out of the year. How do you know they'll remember me?" I said, grasping at a reason not to go.

Dad smiled. "They'll remember you. Plus I've been telling everyone you'll be staying here for a while. They want you to come."

I frowned at him, feeling the longing to run into my room and lock the door. "You've been talking about me?"

Dad was still smiling, but I guess he caught the distressed look on my face, because it slowly faded to a look of caution, like he didn't want to hurt my feelings. "Of course, sweetheart. You're my daughter and I'm proud of you. I'm happy you're going to be staying with me."

"So you didn't tell anyone…_why_ I was here?" I said, grimacing.

He quickly shook his head. "Of course not. It's nobody's business but ours." He said.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Ok, but that still doesn't mean I want to go."

Now he frowned. "It's for Billy Black's son."

"Who?"

"Billy Black. His son Jacob took off a couple of months ago and he just got back this morning. This bonfire is to celebrate him finally coming back."

"What's this have to do with me?" I asked, frowning back.

"You don't remember Jacob? You played with him sometimes when you were kids."

I still frowned, thinking back. I do vaguely remember playing with some kids sometimes while I was here during the summer. But nobody's face stood out. Though the name Jacob did pull at me a little.

"So why did he take off?" I asked.

Dad shrugged, but I noticed he didn't look at me as he answered. "He was having some girl troubles. That's about all I know."

"What, did he run off with a girlfriend or something?" I asked, feeling curious.

"I don't think so. I don't know all the details, it wasn't my business. But either way you should still come. It'll be a chance for you to make some friends."

I crossed my arms and sat back against the couch, fully aware I was acting like a child. "I don't want to make friends. I can't."

Dad laughed. "What do you mean, you can't? That's silly."

He got up, looking down at me. "It's going to be down at First Beach. Make sure you dress warm." He was smiling, but his voice was final.

I glared at his back as I watched him walk into the kitchen, feeling slightly betrayed.

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><p><strong>So what did you think for a first chapter? I have up till chapter three written right now, so let me know if you want to read some more. Also, Gwen is eighteen in this story, and I <em>think<em> Bella was nineteen when she became a vampire, and I _think_ Jacob was two years younger than her, so the timeline might not be right. So if anyone knows their ages for sure let me know.** **Either way, Gwen is eighteen. And that quote about the shadows was said by Ruth E. Renkel. I like quotes, so I'm going to use alot of them.**

**Reviews would be appreciated :)**


	2. Bonfire

**So I figured that sense I got such a good response to the first chapter, I would just go ahead and post the second one. Even though I meant to type out the fourth chapter today, I instead spent it typing out the chapter when Gwen tells Jacob what happened her. Because it wouldn't get out of my head! I love the way it turned out, and I hope you will too, once we get there!**

** I want to thank Nesi Cullen, LEXA14, boxofchocolates96, longoria3097, Lovebug1020, waterbender-inlalaland, kandy2431, annika16, RANDOM COOKIE NINJA, vanilla12ish, and kikikiki for adding this story to their favorites and/or alerts! You guys have no idea how great that makes you :)**

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Shephenie Meyer. I only own a need to write about them :p**

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><p>"<em>Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive."-<em> The Dalai Lama

_-Love is like a booger. You keep picking at it until you get it, then wonder what to do with it-_

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><p>First Beach was about a half hour walk from our house, yet a five minute drive in Dad's old Buick. It made a sort of screeching sound as we drove, sort of like a chicken being strangled, and I found myself praying it didn't suddenly decide to die on us.<p>

When we finally got there Dad parked in between a few other cars that were parked on a small lot just off the side of the beach. A small worn path lead down to the beginning of the sand, winding downward between patches of grass and the pebbles that made up most of the shore.

I got out of the car slowly, trying hard not to slam the door in a fit of anger and nerves. I really, _really_, didn't want to be here. I could think of plenty of other things I'd rather be doing: reading a book, watching TV, playing with my laptop. I had plenty of things to occupy myself.

Yet here I was, nervously making sure my shirt covered the scar on my upper chest and bundling my jacket around myself with my arms. I felt like I was walking to a death sentence.

A year ago I would have jumped at a chance to come to this. The old me would have loved it, because it really did look like everyone was having a good time. A huge bonfire was burning a couple of meters back from the shore line, its flames sometimes flickering with blue and green. There was a boom box playing somewhere, and there were a few people dancing around like idiots, not a care in the world. Someone had backed a truck up close to the party; it's back open and full of what looked like different kinds of snack food. There was a BBQ next to it, with two women cooking hotdogs and a group of boys surrounding it, looking like they were drooling. All in all, it looked fun.

I walked slowly behind my dad as he approached, feeling lost and out of place. I hated it.

"Jack!" a husky, low voice called out cheerfully. I quickly pulled my hood up over my head, glad it was deep enough to hide my face if I wanted it to.

"Billy! Good to see you looking like your usual cheerful self." My dad smiled as I watched him clasp the shoulder of a wheel-chair bound man sitting near the fire.

Billy smiled, his face crinkling from laugh lines. "I have something to be cheerful about again." He glanced around, gesturing to the whole party. "Everyone having such a goodtime is contagious."

"Well it is a welcome back party." Dad smiled. "Where is Jake anyway?" he asked, looking around.

With a laugh, Billy gestured over to the BBQ, causing both my dad and I to look over. I felt my eyes widen. Still surrounding the BBQ was that group of boys I had noticed before. What I hadn't noticed was how big each of them was. My dad was about 6'2'', but these boys easily cleared that. If I had to guess, they had to be at least 6'7". Not only were they tall, but they were all heavily muscled as well. I had only ever seen professional wrestlers on TV with muscles as big as the ones they had. Both of my arms together couldn't compare to one of theirs. And what made it worse was that every single one of them was shirtless, only wearing a pair of jean cut-offs.

"Oh, I see him." Dad chuckled. "I should have looked toward the food in the first place."

Billy chuckled as well, and then I felt his eyes on me. "Well I'll be. Jack, is that little Gwen?" he asked.

Dad grinned, a look that was unusual on his face, and scooped me forward with his arm around my shoulders. I had a feeling it was to keep me from running away.

"Yep, this is my little Gwen. Although she's not so little anymore."

I had the sudden urge to bury my head in the sand.

Billy smiled at me kindly. "I can see that. She's beautiful, Jack." He reached out and offered me his hand. "You probably don't remember me, but I'm Billy Black, a friend of your fathers."

I shook his hand, feeling embarrassed. "No, sorry, but I really don't. But it's um, nice to meet you. Again." I quickly pulled my hand away and stuffed it in my jacket pocket.

Billy laughed. "That's alright, sweetheart. No hard feelings. I don't expect you to remember. But you might remember my son Jacob." He turned toward the BBQ, and to my embarrassment, began to yell for his son. "Jake! Jacob! Get your butt over here! I want you to meet someone!"

I fell silent as I watched one of the boys by the BBQ look over at us and started jogging over, carrying a plate loaded with food with him. I noticed he was the only one of the boys with long hair. He was maybe one of the bigger ones, with a smooth face and deep set eyes like Billy's. He was very good looking, but there was something about him, something I couldn't really describe. It was like someone had sucked the life out of him, like he had seen something horrible and couldn't come back from it. Like a war vet. I felt like I could relate. Thinking about it, looking at him as he approached, it felt like there was a tug in my chest. I quickly looked away, rubbing the usual spot on my chest. But somehow it didn't hurt like it usually did.

"Yeah, Dad?" He asked, coming to a stop next to Billy. His voice was deep and husky, and I felt my heart skip a beat. I frowned, rubbing a little harder.

"Do you remember Jack's daughter, Gwen? You use to play with her every once in a while when she would come for the summer." Billy said motioning to me. "She just moved back with him for the year."

I could feel Jacob's eyes on me now, and I wanted nothing more than to bolt. It was then that I realized how truly pathetic I had become. A year ago I wouldn't have shied away from meeting anyone, especially a guy like this.

"Hey. Nice to see you." He said, but I could tell by his voice that he neither knew who I was, nor did he care.

A sudden burst of my old self suddenly poked her head out, feeling defiant, and I looked up, meeting his eyes. "Nice to see you again, Jacob. Though to be honest I don't really remember you either." I said, letting the corners of my mouth twitch upward. It wasn't a smile, but it was something.

The look on Jacob's face when he met my eyes was strange. His mouth opened slightly and his eyes widened, like he was seeing something amazing. It reminded me of a baby opening its eyes for the first time. His whole person suddenly screamed of excitement and joy, that haunted look in his eyes instantly vanishing. And then he dropped his plate, splattering hotdogs, beans, chili, relish and other condiments and food stuffs all over my favorite boots.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, staggering backwards into my dad. "Ugg! What the hell!"

"Jacob!" Suddenly three of the boys who had been by the BBQ were there, grabbing Jacob and hauling him away. I stared after them in shock, noticing Jacob's eyes were still trained on my face.

"You okay, sweetheart?" My dad said, looking down at my shoes and then at me.

"Besides the edibles all over my feet, yeah, I'm fine." I growled, looking down at my ruined boots.

"I'm sorry about that Gwen." I looked up at Billy, only to see him smiling brightly at me. He looked extremely happy for some reason. "I'll replace them if you like."

I couldn't decide what to say. Part of me wanted not to care, but the other part was extremely pissed off and embarrassed. "It's okay. But are there any napkins or something around? I'd rather not walk around with ketchup and relish all over my shoes." I asked.

Billy nodded over toward the truck. "There should be some paper towels in there. Ask Sue and Emily."

"Thanks." I grumbled, walking over.

The remaining boys by the BBQ had obviously seen everything because they were roaring with laughter as I passed, but I ignored them, trying hard not to get what little sand there was between the pebbles on my sticky shoes. Two women were sitting on the edge of the truck bed, one young and the other about my mother's age, maybe a bit older.

The young one stood up as I approached, and I tried not to grimace as I looked at her face. She had three huge scars down the left side of her face from hairline to chin, her eye and the corner of her mouth pulled down into a grimace. They stood out red and angry from her copper skin. They looked like they had been healed for a long time, but I couldn't help but think they had been painful while doing so. They made me appreciate that my own scar was easily coverable.

"Are you alright, sweetie? We saw what happened." She said kindly, the right side of her mouth turning up into a kind smile.

"I'm all right. Do you have any napkins?" I asked. "Billy said they were in the truck."

She nodded and started rummaging through the piles of food in the truck bed. I was amazed at how much there was. At least enough to feed a small army.

"I'm Sue Clearwater. You must be Gwendolyn. Jack's told us so much about you." The older lady smiled, extending her hand.

I shook her hand, feeling uncomfortable that dad had been talking about me. "Nice to meet you, Sue. You can call me Gwen."

Sue smiled. "Most people call me Mrs. Clearwater."

"Oh. Um, sorry. Would you rather I call you Mrs. Clearwater?" I wasn't use to calling someone by their last name, no matter how old they were. Must be a small town thing.

She laughed. "No, no. It's alright. You can call me Sue. I'd rather you did, actually."

The younger women turned around then, offering me a roll of paper towels. "And I'm Emily Young. Sam's fiancée."

I sat down on the trucks bench and started taking off my boots. "Sam?"

Emily smiled. "I'm sure you'll meet him soon."

I simply nodded, focusing on wiping off my shoes. What was that guy's problem, I wondered. Was he on drugs? He didn't really seem like the type, although with those muscles I really had to wonder if maybe it was the steroids affecting him.

Suddenly there was a face hovering under my shoe, right near my knees. It was one of the boys that had been standing around the BBQ, now crouched down so he could see my face as I bent over my soiled shoe.

"Um." I paused. "Can I help you?"

His face split into a large grin, his eyes lighting up. "So this is her, huh? Not bad at all. Very cute."

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

Emily's voice rang out. "Quil! Leave her alone!"

The boy, Quil, stood up, still grinning. I looked up as well, noticing that I was suddenly surrounded by all the boys from the BBQ, all with wide grins on their faces. I noticed that Jacob and the other three still weren't there. I wondered where they disappeared too. Probably to help Jacob out during his tripping episode.

One of the boys bounced forward, smiling widely, his eyes friendly. He was practically jumping up and down in excitement. "Hi. I'm Seth Clearwater. I'm so glad you're finally here!" And then he tackled me in a bone crushing hug.

"Urg!" I squeaked as the other boys started to laugh, while next to me Sue and Emily frowned.

"Seth, get off of the poor girl!" Sue exclaimed. "You're hurting her!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Seth instantly pulled away from me like I was on fire. He took my arms and pushed my sleeves up all the way to my elbows. "You're not hurt are you? I didn't bruise you did I?" He asked in a panic.

"That's right, Seth. Wouldn't want Jake to have to break your face on his first night back!" another boy laughed.

"That's enough now!" Emily exclaimed, coming to stand in front of me. "If you're going to introduce yourselves do it already, otherwise leave. You're scaring the poor thing."

I wasn't really scared. No, actually, yes I was. I was completely freaked out. What was with these people? Was La Push so off the map that one, sort of new teenage girl got them all excited?

"Are you guys on drugs or something? Because these last few minutes have been the weirdest I have ever experienced. And I'm from LA. I've experienced some weird things." I blurted.

The boys all stared at me for a second before they erupted into laughter. Even Emily and Sue laughed. I simply watched them, feeling embarrassed and out of place.

Finally they seemed to calm down a bit. The boy who spoke before stepped forward. "I'm Quil. And that's Embry, Seth, Brady and Collin. The one's that took Jake away were Sam, Paul and Jared. Oh, and Leah, but she's not here. We're the pack. And believe me, the weirdness hasn't even started yet, cutie." He grinned widely, further freaking me out.

I blinked at him, leaning away from him and frowning. "The…pack? What are you, like a gang or something?"

"You could say that." The one called Embry smiled. He threw his arms over the two boys that hadn't spoken yet. "We're one big happy family. You can be our new little sister if you want." He grinned, causing the other boys to grin wider.

I had no idea how to react to all this. The old me would have gone along with it, laughed and made a joke, but she had decided to disappear on me again. Guess that little defiant act with Jacob had been enough for her. So I bent over my shoe again.

"No thanks." I mumbled.

"You're shy? It's okay, you don't need to be. You're one of us now." Seth Clearwater said, bending down to peer at my face.

Before I could ask what he meant, Sue interrupted. "That's enough now, boys." She said sternly. "She obviously doesn't want to be bothered, so leave her alone."

"That's right." Emily said just as sternly. She had her hands on her hips, looking for all the world like a mother scolding children. "She just got here today. Let her get settled before you start in on her."

Both women were throwing them piercing looks that pretty much screamed 'GO AWAY'. To my surprise the boys seemed to look a little sheepish under their stares.

"Sorry, Mom. " Seth said with a little apologetic smile towards Sue. "We're just excited."

"Of course you are. And that's fine, just watch your mouths." Sue said, glaring at them.

I still had no idea what was going on, just sitting here focusing on cleaning my shoes. I wasn't completely dense. There was obviously some sort of underlying conversation going on here. I got that whole 'out of the loop feeling.' And despite the fact that I was trying really hard not to care and ignore everything as usual, the old me poked her head out a little in curiosity. It was just another thing to add to my growing list of weirdness for this evening.

"All right everyone!" Billy's voice yelled near the bonfire. "We're going to start now! Come on over!"

"You wanna sit next to us?" Seth asked me kindly. He held up a bag of marshmallows. "We have marshmallows!" he said with a childish grin.

"Um, no thanks. I think I'm just going to sit with my dad for now." I replied, quickly pulling on my boots.

Seth's shoulders sagged and his smile fell, which surprisingly made me feel a little bad. His expression made me feel like I had just kicked a puppy. "Oh. Okay then."

Quil reached out and pulled me down off the truck bench and started herding me toward the fire, the others following closely behind. "Don't worry about it, cutie." He grinned. "It's okay if we're too much for you. It's understandable to be intimidated by a group of handsome men."

I rolled my eyes. "Right. If you see any feel free to point me in their direction."

He and the rest laughed. "You'll fit right in." He said, pushing me in the direction of my dad. "We'll be seeing ya!" He winked at me and went to go sit on the other side of the fire with the others.

"Hey, hun." Dad said as I sat down next to him. "You alright?"

"Yeah." I said. "Those boys are pretty…enthusiastic. I guess that's the best word to describe them."

He chuckled. "They are. But you'll get use to them."

"Hm." I didn't think I would. Or if I wanted too.

Another minute passed while everyone gathered around the fire for the story telling. Besides the "pack" boys, there was a bunch of other people I didn't recognize from my summers here. A lot of them were teenagers, with only a few older adults. It surprised me that teenagers would even be interested in this kind of thing; this defiantly wasn't LA.

Just as Billy started speaking about Taha Aki and the history of our tribe, I noticed four people coming out of the shadows near the forest. By their size I could tell it was Jacob and the three boys from before. I watched out of the corner of my eye as they took seats near the rest of their friends, seeming to blend in with them.

I snuck a glance at Jacob, only to feel my heart stutter when I saw him gazing right at me through the flames of the fire. He was looking at me so intently, like he was about to jump over the flames to get to me. Our eyes met and I felt that strange tug on my heart again. One corner of his mouth twitched upward, his eyes softening, and I quickly looked away, pulling my hood down over my eyes and concentrating on Billy's voice. But I could still feel Jacob's eyes on me for the rest of the evening.

Strangely, that night I actually slept without any nightmares for once. All that filled my head was images of wolves with Jacob Black's eyes. And somehow, that was comforting.

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><p><strong>So how was the second chapter? I hope I was able to keep everyone in character, especialy the pack. Their fun-loving witty guys, and I'm just a boring girl in collage. But I will do my best. Let me know what you think!<strong>

**Reviews are always loved! :)**


	3. Relapse

**As promised, chapter four has been written, and chapter five is in progress. Like, maybe half done. I'm adding Jocob's pov in there, his thoughts about Gwen, so I'm a little stuck on it. But hopefully I'll get the snag out quickly.**

**I want to thank Nesi Cullen, LEXA14, boxofchocolates96, longoria3097, Lovebug1020, waterbender-inlalaland, kandy2431, annika16, RANDOM COOKIE NINJA, vinilla12ish, kikikiki, Lady of Sign, Heavy Metal Angel, BamaBelle630, RG-Animor, , AnnaMarie03, Elizabetch, megane793, S. Salvator , NoName000, jitterbug7, and songofthelioness for adding me to their favorites and/or alerts and reviewing! You guys are the best! **

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. The only thing Twilight I own are the books and Gwen, who is living in their world in my imagination.**

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><p>"<em>The truth is you don't know what is going to happen tomorrow. Life is a crazy ride, and nothing is guaranteed"-<em>Eminem

'_God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way'_-Unknown

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><p>I spent the next day, Saturday, cleaning the whole house from top to bottom. Normally I wouldn't bother, but I had got a good night's sleep last night, despite the strange dreams, and I felt like I needed to burn off some energy. Dad would be at work all day, so I took the opportunity to clean and throw out things that I knew he hadn't touched in years. Like a stack of old newspaper comics he had on his bedroom floor. Of course, I ran into a slight snag when I found a nest of spiders in a corner of his room. The next couple of hours after that were spent with me and Shep running around the house, me screaming in terror as I tried to kill them with a broom and Shep following me around, barking and trying to attack them.<p>

I found an old cigar box full of old photos, a lot of them of my dad and the grandparents I never knew, some of my mom and him, and a few of me during my summers here. As I looked through them I found one in particular very interesting. It was of a group of kids of various ages. I recognized myself, maybe eight or nine years old, and I was sitting next to four other kids. Three of them were Quileute, two older looking girls and a boy about my age. The last girl was white, with brown eyes and hair, looking up at the camera shyly. We were sitting in a boat, against the edge, me and the boy smiling widely at the camera while the other two girls simply gazed up at it.

I turned it over, finding my dad's chicken scratch writing on the back. It said, _'Gwen, Jacob,_ _Rebecca, Rachel and Bella at First Beach, summer 1997.'_

I turned it back over, examining the faces, Jacob's in particular. I found it hard to believe that the face that was smiling up at me from the picture was the same face that had been staring at me so intently last night. He looked like a completely different person now. It was creepy. And a little sad. It reminded me of how people eventually do grow-up and how much life can suck when you do.

I racked my brain for who the other three girls were, but I had no idea. Rachel, Rebecca, and Jacob all had the same facial structure, so I was going to assume they were brother and sisters. I had no idea who that Bella girl was. But then again she did have that 'shy girl' look to her, so I probably hadn't paid much attention to her. Even now, shy people annoyed me.

With a shrug I tossed the photo back in the box and continued on with my cleaning.

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><p>It was mid-day by the time I finally finished, and I was actually hungry for once. Not really in the mood to cook, I decided to walk down to The Pail, the only little restaurant in all of La Push. Actually it wasn't even a restaurant; it was more like a hole in the wall, mom and pop pit stop place. It was so small; there were only about twelve booths and maybe six tables. Despite its small size, it did pretty well. The food was good and the handful of people who worked there were friendly. Plus, it was owned by my dad, so I was hoping for some free food.<p>

The walk was about as long as it took to get to First Beach, so I decided to take Shep with me for some company and exercise. He trotted along at my side, his floppy ears and jowls bouncing as he walked. He seemed like he was happy to be out, and I wondered how often dad took him for walks.

The Pail wasn't busy when I got there, only a few people scattered across the dining room. I tied Shep up to a bike rack right outside the door, and went in, pausing slightly when everyone turned to look at me. My dad was one of them, sitting at the farthest booth from the door with a man I recognized as one of the guys who had taken Jacob away. Dad smiled when he saw me.

"Gwen! What are you doing here, hun? Come sit down." He motioned me over.

I walked over slowly, the other man's eyes on me. It looked like he might have been sizing me up.

"Hey, Dad. I just came to get some dinner or something. I didn't feel like cooking." I said, sliding into the booth next to him.

Dad smiled. "That's fine." He turned to the man across from us. "Sam, this is my daughter Gwen. Gwen this is Sam Uley. He's in charge of the protection program around here."

I looked at him. "Are you Emily's fiancée?" I said, remembering how she had mentioned a Sam last night.

Sam nodded. "Yes. It's a pleasure to meet you, Gwen. I've heard a lot about you." He gave me a light smile, and it seemed to soften his otherwise sharp features. "Emily was very excited to meet you."

'_She wasn't the only one'_ I thought. I felt awkward sitting there across from this man. He was large, probably the biggest of the group of boys besides Jacob, but unlike them he was much more serious looking and intimidating, more adult-like. His eyes were piercing, searching, and he had an air of wisdom about him that was peculiar for someone his age. He couldn't have been more than thirty.

"Is Jacob okay?" I suddenly blurted out.

Both Sam and my dad blinked, seeming surprised I would ask such a thing. Sam tilted his head a bit, watching me. "Why do you ask?" his voice was careful, yet had an under tone of curiosity I don't think I was meant to hear.

"Mostly because he looked like he was tripping out last night when he saw me. Is he on drugs?" I asked.

"Gwen." Dad said disapproval in his voice.

"What, it's an honest question. Its okay if he is, I'm not going to hold it against him or anything. I was just wondering." I said with a shrug.

Sam looked amused. There was a smirk on his face as he answered. "No, Jacob is not on drugs. He was just tired from his travels and it got to him for a second."

"His travels? Where did he go?" I asked, feeling interested.

Sam's smirk only widened. He looked pleased. "Perhaps he'll tell you himself sometime." He started to rise out of his seat, looking at dad. "It was good talking to you, Jack, but I have to get going. I hope you understand what this means now."

Dad frowned, suddenly looking upset. "Yes, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Sam nodded once. "I understand; I wouldn't like it either if I was in your position, but now that it's happened nothing can stop it." At this he glanced at me, then back at dad, who was now glaring into space.

I suddenly felt alarmed. Dad never got upset about anything. Not unless it was serious. "What's going on? What's wrong, Dad?"

He turned to look at me, still frowning, a touch of sadness in his eyes. "Dad?" I frowned. "Are you okay?"

He smiled then, but his eyes were still sad. "I'm fine, sweetheart. It's nothing for you to worry about."

"I have to go now." Sam said, sliding out of the booth. "I'll be seeing you, Jack. You to, Gwen." And then he was gone.

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><p>On the walk home after dinner my head was spinning. I had only been here for maybe two days now, and already I felt like I was missing something. Something was going on in La Push, and judging by all these underlying conversations, it involved the few people I had talked to recently. But what did I know? Maybe I was just being paranoid. It wouldn't be the first time my paranoia got the best of me. The first few months after the incident, I thought someone was following me around every corner. Maybe that was it. This move was just stressing me out more than it was helping me.<p>

I continued to walk down the road back towards home, my head full of thoughts, when Shep suddenly stopped dead, causing the leash to jerk out of my hand. I turned quickly only to see him frozen and standing alert, looking into the forest a few feet from us.

"Shep? What are you doing?" I bent down and picked up the leash. "C'mon, let's go."

I tugged on it a few times, but the dog didn't budge, just continued to stare into the trees. He wasn't growling or making any noise, but he was alert and tense, like he was on edge. It made me nervous enough to stare into the trees myself. I didn't see a thing. It was light up until a few feet in, where it just dropped off into blackness. I looked back at Shep.

"There's nothing there, you stupid dog. C'mon now, I want to go home." I said, tugging on the leash again nervously. I knew from experience that just because you couldn't see something didn't mean nothing was there.

A light rustling from the bushes made me turn back. What I saw made my stomach drop down to my knees, and my eyes widen in fear. Next to me Shep whimpered, ducking his head with his tail between his legs.

A giant wolf. It was a huge, giant, enormous wolf, looking out at me from the foliage of the forest. All I could see was his head and shoulders, but that's all I needed to see to tell he was about as tall as a horse and as thick as a small car. His fur was a reddish-brown, a russet color, with deep brown eyes that stared at me intently. Despite how terrified I was I couldn't help but think he was beautiful. Another thought I had experience with.

I watched, frozen, as the wolf lowered his head slowly, one paw emerging from the forest to take a step toward me. I inhaled, not realizing I hadn't been breathing, taking a quick step back. The wolf paused, going very still. It let out a small whine and lowered its head even more, it's eyes still on mine.

We stood there staring at each other, my heart pounding and adrenalin pumping, for what felt like forever, Shep whimpering and trying to back away. Finally, the wolf blinked and took a slow step back, backing into the forest, like he knew I was scared of him. He kept slowly backing away from me, his eyes never leaving mine, until he was completely gone.

My knees instantly gave out, and I bent over, taking in gulpfulls of air. It had defiantly been one of the scariest things I had ever experienced. The second after the incident. But the wolf's eyes, his eyes were burned into my head. They were intelligent and deep, and I knew I would never be able to forget them.

'_He knew.'_ I thought, _'That wolf knew I was afraid of him.'_

I didn't sleep that night. I was too keyed up and afraid to sleep. As soon as I had got home I had instantly ran to my room and locked the door, pulling my knees to my chest and trying not to freak out and keep it together. I wondered what Dr. Phil would say about this one. He would probably say the same thing he had been saying from the beginning: that I was delusional and hallucinating because I had experienced a traumatic event that caused me to develop a psychotic disorder, which affected my personality. He would probably try to get mom to put me on medication again. I knew she wouldn't let him. A part of me wondered if she maybe really did believe me about what happened on some level, and that's why she wouldn't let him medicate me. Sometimes I wished she would.

Dad was worried when he came home and found me curled in a corner of my closet. I couldn't tell him what had happened, just that I needed to be alone for a while. I didn't feel comfortable telling him I had seen a giant wolf walking home. People had called me crazy so much; I couldn't take it if dad didn't believe me. So I kept my mouth shut and locked up in my room all night, not sleeping and with the light on. Every little sound caused me to jump a mile high and tense up so much, that by morning my muscles were actually sore.

Dad drove me down to the hardware store in Forks that morning like he promised. The ride was silent and thick, and it made me feel guilty.

"I'm sorry, Dad." I said quietly.

"About what, sweetheart?" he asked, glancing over at me.

"For putting you through this. I'm sorry Mom dumped me on you. This past year has been really hard, but I was getting better. I didn't think I would have a relapse, and I'm sorry if I scared you." I said, looking down at my lap.

Dad sighed. "I know it's not your fault, Gwen." He said. "I know what happened back in LA, and I would be worried if you didn't have some trouble after seeing what you did. Personally, I think you're very strong and brave to make an effort at getting on only a year after witnessing something like that. I'm very proud of you."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, along with the few tears that threatened to spill out. Dad and I didn't really have much in common, but this is what I loved about him; He didn't fret over me and treat me like I was made of glass like Mom did. He actually made an effort to understand.

I discreetly wiped away a runaway tear that had escaped, swallowing. "Thanks, Dad."

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><p>Forks was fifteen miles outside of La Push, so the car ride was short. I had made a list of things I wanted for my room, and entering the little hardware store, I wasn't really sure they would have what I wanted. It definably wasn't Lowes. I sighed, frustrated. Why did Forks have to be so small?<p>

"Okay, so first I wanted to get some hooks. I wanted to hang a few things." I said, looking at dad.

He nodded. "Alright."

We walked around a few minutes, looking for hooks, when out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of two huge dark figures. I paused, looking at them. It was Jacob Black, walking down the aisle with his friend Quil. Quil looked like he was jabbering about something excitedly, while Jacob didn't look like he was listening at all. He was more focused on the shelf full of different bolts in front of him. Behind me, Dad stopped.

"What are you looking at, Gwen?"

His voice must have alerted them, because they both turned to look at us, Jacob's eyes instantly zeroing in on me. Quil's face spilt into a grin.

"Hey, look who it is!" he said excitedly, bounding over to us.

"Hello there, Quil, Jacob. What brings you two here so early?" Dad asked.

"My bike needed some work done." Jacob said, holding up a box of...something. Tiny pieces of metal I didn't have a name for.

He wasn't looking at me now, his eyes looking everywhere but at me. His face was a little darker then it looked last night, and he was shifting on his feet slightly. If I didn't know any better, I would say he looked embarrassed. Quil seemed to notice, because his eyes shifted from him to me then to dad, his grin getting wider if possible.

"What about you two?" Quil asked, seeming to lean forward a bit. It looked like he might have been expecting something.

Dad clapped me on the shoulder. "Gwen just wanted to get a few things for her room today. Since she's going to be living here from now on, we figured she should personalize it a little. Maybe get a new nightlight."

How is it that parents can embarrass you without meaning too? Was it a trait that developed after they had reproduced?

Before they could respond or I could bang my head against the wall, a buzzing sound floated through the air, bringing our attention to my father's vibrating left pocket. Pulling out his cell phone, he flipped it open.

"Hello…yes…what, again?...alright, I'll be there in a minute, just keep it unplugged until I get there. Bye." He closed the phone with a sigh, looking at me.

"Sorry, sweetheart, but we're going to have to get your things another day. The dishwasher at the restaurant is spewing water everywhere again and I have to go take a look at it before it breaks down again."

I sucked on my teeth in irritation. I really wanted to get my room done. It would give me something to do and keep my mind occupied from thinking too much.

"Um…" We all turned to Jacob, who was looking a bit nervous. "If you want, we can help you get the things you need. And take you home, if you want." He looked at me hopefully.

I opened my mouth but Dad answered for me. "I don't think that's a very good idea, Jacob."

I looked at him in surprise. Normally, my father was very polite to everyone, calm and cool. I had never seen him give anyone dirty looks before, like the way he was looking at Jacob. The other night he hadn't seemed hostile toward the boy, so why all of a sudden did he look like he wanted nothing more than to grab me and get away from him? It caused a blossom of irritation to bloom in my chest.

"Actually that sounds great." I said, looking at Jacob.

Said boy, who had been looking like a kicked dog under my dad's gaze, suddenly perked up and beamed at me. "Yeah?" he sounded like a child who was given a treat for being good.

I nodded. "Yeah. I really wanted to finish my room before the week is out."

"Gwen, are you sure?" Dad asked, looking anxious. "I can bring you back later."

I turned to look at him. "It's okay, Dad. You're going to be stuck at work for the rest of the morning, and I really don't feel like coming back later. I'll just get what I need and then Jacob and Quil can drop me off at home."

"But-"

"It's no trouble." Quil spoke up, still grinning. "We were going to head back to the rez anyway after this."

I watched as Dad's mouth thinned out and he frowned, like he wanted to keep arguing, but to my surprise, he didn't. He nodded.

"Alright. But bring her straight home afterwards, understand?" He said, glaring at Jacob.

"Sir yes sir!" Quil said, giving him a salute. "Don't worry about a thing; we'll take care of her. Jake probably won't even let her carry the basket."

Both Jacob's face and Dad's glare grew darker. "Right. I'll call you in a few hours." Dad said, looking down at me.

He threw the two boys, Jacob in particular, one last look, then left. We watched him walk out the sliding doors in silence, and then Quil spoke.

"Welp, I guess I'll head out too. Gotta get to work!" he said with a smile. "Have fun!"

He clapped Jacob on the back and then practically bounded out the door, moving surprisingly quick for a guy his size.

And that's how I got my first afternoon alone with Jacob Black.

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><p><strong>How was it? Am I living up to all you're expectations, because I have to say, your reviews are making me a bit nervous. I love them, but I'm worried it's not going to be good enough once we really start getting into it. Of course, I can only do my best, and I hope you guys would let me know if something was wrong; like if Gwen is getting Mary-Sue, or someone is OOC. I'm trying really hard as I think out future chapters to not let that happen. So please let me know!<strong>

**Reviews are always loved and appriciated!**


	4. Weirdness and Drugs

**Here's chapter four. I have to warn you, this chapter Jacob might be OOC, but it's only because he doesn't know Gwen yet; he's not sure how to handle her, so he's letting the imprint act for him. Also, this chapter is mostly for laughs, it's not really that serious. And I do no way condone doing drugs.**

**So this time around I want to thank everyone who alerted, favorited or reviewed this story! I would list you all out by name, but there's so many of you it would just take away from the time you could be using to read the chapter. But you know who you are, and know that you are awesome! I was blown away by all the people who added me this time!**

**One last thing: I have decided on a theme song for this fic: Your Gaurdian Angel by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. It fits this fic perfectly, I think.**

**Disclamer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, and Gwen belongs to me. Even if Jacob claims she's his now, we all know the truth ;)**

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><p>"<em>We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love"-<em>Dr. Seuss

"_If things start happening, don't worry, don't stew, just go right a long and you'll start happening too_"

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><p>"So, um, what kind of stuff did you need?" Jacob asked, looking down at me.<p>

I had to tilt my head back to look at him. This guy was easily two feet taller than me, and I couldn't help but wonder how ridiculous we looked standing next to each other.

The look on his face was cute though. He looked like he was really eager to help me, but hesitant, like I would tell him to get lost any second. Which I had no intention of doing, even though I was still upset about my boots. But there was no way I was walking the fifteen miles back to the reservation. I might just die from the blisters I was sure to get from that little walk. I didn't do well with pain.

I glanced down at my list. "Hooks, spray paint, a book shelve, and some free standing shelves. Not much." I shrugged.

He looked at me funny. "What do you need spray paint for?"

I gave him a funny look right back. "To spray paint on things obviously."

His face split into a grin. "Right. Do you like to paint?"

He started to walk back down the way he came, and I followed. He walked with long, confident strides, and I had to almost jog to keep up with him. Damn freakishly tall people and my short stature.

"Not really." I responded.

"Oh. But if you don't like to paint, what do you need spray paint for?" he asked, frowning.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Because I want to add a little color to my room. It's not like I'm going to be painting the Sistine Chapel." I said shaking my head.

"Right, sorry." He replied, looking a bit put out, almost pouting.

I looked at him, thinking he was obviously more sensitive than he looked. Then I realized he looked different than the last time I saw him.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, making him jump and look at me in alarm.

"What? What's wrong?" He asked looking at me with wide eyes, an edge to his voice.

"You cut your hair!" I said, pointing to his head.

He ran a hand through his now short hair. Before, it had been long; about as long as mine, at his shoulder blades were he had easily been able to tie it back into a ponytail. But now it was short, not really a buzz, but close to it.

"Yeah, I did." Then he turned to me and gave me a roguish grin. "You like guys with long hair?"

"No. I think it looks tacky." I responded.

His face instantly fell, like I had just told him he was a loser to some contest he really wanted to win.

"But you just said…" he trailed off, like he was confused.

"All I said was that you cut your hair. It's just such a radical change to see someone with long hair one day, and then short hair the next. I was just making an observation." I explained, turning to look at the shelf we had stopped at.

"Oh."

I glanced over at him. His face still had that loser look on it. I sighed. "But it looks good."

He instantly turned and smiled at me. It was so bright it looked like it could have powered that whole store. In my experience, a guy only smiled like that when getting a complement about his hair was if he was gay.

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><p>It only took us a little while to get what I needed from the store. I got a variety of hooks and paint colors, and one huge book shelf I knew I was going to have to get some help putting together. Which Jacob eagerly volunteered to do.<p>

"Are you sure?" I asked.

We were driving back to the reservation now, all my stuff piled into the back of Jacob's orange Volkswagen Rabbit. It was a small car, and I wondered how Jacob could easily fit into it like he did.

"Sure, it's no problem." He smiled over at me. "When did you want to put it together?"

I thought for a second. Any time was good for me really. It's not like I had anything to do around here.

"Anytime is good. What about for you? You just got back the other day. I don't want to take you away from spending time with your dad or your friends." I said, looking at him.

He shrugged, seeming indifferent. "They won't care. We don't really do much but hang around the rez anyway."

"None of you have jobs?" I asked, feeling puzzled. I thought Quil had said something about going to work. Back home I didn't know one teenager who didn't have at least a part time job.

He actually laughed. "Forks and the rez aren't exactly the job capital of the world. But we get by." He grinned. "If you want we can do it once we get back to your place."

Just as I opened my mouth to respond he gasped. "No! What I meant was that we could put your book shelf together! I didn't mean how that came out!" he exclaimed, looking panicked, his face a little red.

I leaned away from him, rethinking my decision about letting this guy help me. "Are you tripping again?"

"What?" he seemed to suddenly calm down, but his eyes were still slightly panicked.

"Everyone's been saying you aren't on drugs, but by the way you've been acting I'm going to have to disagree. So are you?" I asked carefully.

"You think I'm on drugs?" he asked.

The look on his face was a cross between sadness and amusement. It was a strange combination.

"Are you?" I asked again. "Cuz I knew some kids back home who were into all that stuff, and I gotta say, it's not good for you, man. I've seen some things." I told him seriously.

To my surprise he burst out laughing. I scooted further away from him, pushing my side up against the door.

"Your just…just…" he couldn't seem to get the words out he was laughing so much.

Yeah, he was defiantly on something, I decided. "Well, whatever. If you're going to do that stuff, just don't do it around me."

His laughter died down to just a chuckle. "Gwen I swear, I'm not on drugs."

"Hm. Right, well, just stay away from the tribal peyote." I said, giving him a look of doubt.

"I'm not on drugs."

"Okay."

"I swear, Gwen, I'm not!"

"Alright. I believe you."

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><p>After having our little debate on wither or not Jacob was on drugs, we finally got back to the house. Jacob helped me take all my stuff to my room, looking around it eagerly as he walked through the doorway. He frowned.<p>

"Your room is really boring."

I shrugged. "What did you expect? I only ever came here one week out of the year." I said, walking over to a few boxes I hadn't yet unpacked. I began pulling things out.

"How come we don't remember each other if we use to play together?" he asked, looking down at my face intently. "How come I don't remember you?"

I shrugged again. "We probably only played together a few times. But, whatever. It's in the past. We can be friends now."

His face lit up again, and then faded to a mischievous look. "You'd be friends with someone who does drugs?"

I looked over at him. "So you admit it?"

"No! I just wanted to know."

Again, I shrugged. "I said I knew people back home who did them. Just cuz they had some problems didn't keep me from being their friend. My mom didn't like it though."

When he didn't answer, I looked back at him. He was looking at me with a look sort of between horror and curiosity. "Did you…ever…" he trailed off, looking hesitant.

"What? Did I ever do drugs?"

He nodded, looking like he was dreading my answer. "Just some weed, once."

"Seriously?" It looked like he couldn't really make up his mind about his reaction. He looked horrified, impressed, curious and upset all at once. I'm not sure how that was possible, but Jacob Black pulled it off.

"Yeah, my friend Evan-" I suddenly broke off, that familiar feeling of horror coming over me. The scar on my chest started to pulse.

Jacob seemed to notice something was wrong because he was instantly standing next to me, one really, really warm hand on my back. He looked at my face with worry.

"Gwen, are you alright? What's wrong?"

I took a deep breath, my hand over my chest. "N-nothing. Don't worry about it. Let's just get to work."

A few minutes later I was standing on a small latter in the middle of my room, trying to nail a hook into the ceiling. Jacob had been hovering over me worriedly like a mother hen, so I had sent him outside to put together my book shelf. There was something really up with that guy.

I began hammering, and it was a lot harder than I expected to hammer upward. After a few strikes I suddenly heard an intake of air.

"Gwen! What are you doing?"

"Huh?"

Two thick arms suddenly wrapped around my waist and I quickly found myself back on the ground, my back pressed up against a hard, hot chest. I looked up into the frightened eyes of Jacob Black. I was suddenly very pissed off.

"What are you doing?" I exclaimed, freeing myself from his hot arms.

"What are you doing?" He retorted, but unlike me, he seemed generally concerned. "You could have fallen!"

"Yeah, I could have, the way you pulled me down like that!" I exclaimed.

He looked like I had hurt his feelings. "I would never let you fall."

"What is wrong with you?" I demanded. "Do you always go around pulling girls off ladders?"

"No, but I saw you up there and I thought you might fall." He said, sounding hurt.

"I'm not going to fall off a latter that's about as tall as I am! And even if I did, it's not like the fall would hurt me." I said heatedly.

"It might." He said, now sounding sad and put out.

I sighed, trying to get my temper under control. What was with this boy? Was he bipolar? His moods seem to change worse than a girl who's PMSing. Obviously something was up with him, and until I figured out what it was, I didn't really want to fight with him. I barely knew him after all, and I did tell mom I would try hard to get back to normal. And despite the fact I had told dad I didn't want to make new friends, I really did. Jacob was a weirdo, but I had some weird friends back in LA too. But Jacob was probably at the top of the list right now.

"Okay, fine. If you think it's so dangerous for me to be up there, you do it." I said tensely, pushing the hammer into his hands.

He nodded, stepping onto the latter's second step. That's all he needed to reach up and touch the ceiling. I handed him the rest of the hooks.

"Here." I said, holding up the box of hooks to him. "Hammer all these in different places on the ceiling, okay?"

He took them without a word and began doing as I told him. I turned back to my boxes and began pulling out things wrapped in newspaper. Unwrapping each one, I laid each dream catcher carefully on my bed. They were a rainbow of different colors and different shapes, some even three in one or interwoven. A few of them were wind chimes.

"You like dream catchers?" Jacob's voice asked.

I looked over at him only to see him watching me, all the hooks in place. He was sitting on the latter, and I was surprised it didn't collapse under his weight. He had to have been at least almost two hundred pounds.

"Yeah. I've been collecting them for years now."

"Which ones you're favorite?" he asked, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

I looked down at my collection. I only had about ten of them, but it was still hard to pick a favorite.

"Maybe…this one." I picked on up and showed it to him.

It was a small one, emerald green with white and brown feathers. A turtle had been woven into the face in green thread so it stood out against the black strings.

"Why that one?" he asked, smiling.

"Cuz it has a turtle on it."

"You like turtles?"

"Their my favorite animals."

He chuckled. "You're weird. Most girls like horses or maybe cats, but turtles?"

"What's wrong with that? And you're one to talk about weird. You and your little tripping episodes."

"I told you I'm not on drugs!"

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><p>After hanging the dream catchers from the ceiling, we headed outside to put together my book shelf. It was drizzling a little, so instead of being able to spread out on the grass we were stuck cramped together on my father's back porch. Not that I minded; Jacob gave off enough heat to make me feel like I was sitting next to a space heater.<p>

We made idle chit chat about pointless things, and I realized how much I had really missed having pointless conversations with someone. Although they weren't all pointless; I learned Jacob had rebuilt his car from scratch, which I thought was amazing because I couldn't even figure out how to change the batteries in my TV remote. He told me embarrassing stories about his two best friends, Quil and Embry, and while I couldn't really bring myself to laugh like I would before, I did smile a little. This seemed to disappoint him, so I decided to tell him an embarrassing story of my own. He roared with laughter as I told him about the time I farted in the middle of giving my senior speech in front of about five students and three teachers, one being the assistant principal. I told him not to laugh because back at my school, a senior speech was considered very serious, and it decided if you graduated or not. He just laughed harder.

After that was done, we spread out a tarp on the porch and I began spray painting my book shelf. It wasn't anything beautiful or specific; all I did was spray streaks of bright colors all over it. But Jacob said it was beautiful.

We went back inside and I made us some sandwiches for lunch. Jacob ate about three of them and yet I suspected he was still hungry. But he didn't complain. We ate in my room, and he finished before me, practically inhaling everything on his plate. I watched him in awe; I had a lot of guy friends back home, but I had never seen any of them eat as fast as Jacob did.

After that he began to look at all the things I had unpacked before, like the knick-knacks I collected. He stopped to examine the things on my dresser. I only had two pictures sitting there: a picture I had of me and mom when we had gone to Hawaii a few years ago, and one other one I couldn't bring myself to leave back in LA. It was the one I least wanted to talk about, and of course the one he asked about.

"Is this your boyfriend?" he asked, picking it up and gazing at it with a strange gaze.

I looked down at my half eaten sandwich, trying not to look at the picture. Either way, I knew what it was of: me in a white prom dress with my arms around a handsome boy wearing a tux, his arms also wrapped around me. We would both be grinning like idiots at the camera.

I swallowed, my sandwich suddenly going down like sandpaper. My stomach twisted as images of the incident came to mind, and I suddenly lost my appetite.

"Gwen?"

I didn't look up at Jacob's concerned voice. "Yeah." I said quietly. "That's my boyfriend. His name was Micheal."

It was quite for a beat, and then the sound of breaking glass rang out, causing me to look up in alarm.

Jacob stood there with my now broken picture in his hands, shaking slightly and glaring hotly at the boy in the picture. I jumped up.

"What the hell did you just do?" I exclaimed, coming over to look at the broken picture. The crack went right across Micheal's face.

Jacob looked shocked, the glare suddenly gone from his face and replaced by horror.

"I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed. "I didn't mean too!"

"What the hell, man! You just broke it!" I yelled, feeling hot anger erupt in my chest.

"I'll replace it. I promise." He said his voice sincere.

I glared at him. "The same way you're going to replace my boots, right?"

He nodded quickly, running a hand over his hair uncomfortably. "Yeah, I wanted to apologize for that. I'll buy you some new shoes too. Anything you want."

I gritted my teeth. For some reason, his attitude was really pissing me off. He was acting like a doormat, someone who would be easily walked all over. And for some reason, I got the very distinct feeling that wasn't who he was. So why was he acting like this? Whatever it was, he really pissed me off this time.

"I think you should leave, Jacob." I growled, narrowing my eyes at him.

He froze, looking stunned. "What?" he asked breathlessly.

"Thanks for all your help today, but it's getting late, and I think you should go." I said hotly.

It wasn't late. It was only about 1:15. He'd been over here all morning.

In that second, the look on Jacob's face actually made me think twice about kicking him out. It was just so _sad_. Like his true love had just told him she never wanted to see him again, that she had found someone else. It made my anger just suddenly evaporate into smoke, and I quickly backpedaled.

"I mean," I said quickly, "My dad's going to be back soon, and by the way he was giving you stink eye earlier I don't think he would appreciate coming home to find you here. Besides, we're pretty much done; I just needed help with the book shelf, really."

"Oh. Alright then." He said, the sad look fading into disappointment. "But I really was serious about replacing the frame. And your shoes."

"So was I."

He nodded. "How about I call you later and we can go to Port Angeles some time? There really aren't any shoe stores around Forks."

"That sounds fine. Just don't be all doped up when you call. I don't think my dad will appreciate it."

He smiled. "Sure, sure."

I walked him out to the front door and saw that it was raining again. I motioned to our umbrella stand by the door. "You want to borrow an umbrella?"

"No thanks. I'll be fine." He turned and gave me another smile. "I'll see you soon?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Sure, I you want." I tried to seem indifferent, but for some reason the thought of hanging out with him again made me feel excited, no matter how much he had just pissed me off.

He threw me a huge grin. He took a slight step toward me, like he was about to hug me, but seemed to think better of it and stepped back. "Alright. See ya."

I watched him as he jogged out into the rain and headed toward the forest, making me frown. Why was he going in there? I gasped. He just got back from where ever. Did he know about the giant wolves in there!

I opened the door to yell at him to stop, but he had already disappeared into the blackness.

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><p><strong>So what did you think? We got to see Gwen come out of her shell a little and found out a little about her. And I hope Jacob wasn't acting <strong>_**to**_** OOC. I just think that because of the imprint and because of all the stuff he went through with Bella, he's acting a bit more insecure. Don't worry, he'll get over it. So let me know what you think!**

**Oh, and the senior speech is something we did at my school, though it wasn't as serious as Gwen made it sound. For those of you who don't do senior speeches, at my school we had to pick any topic we wanted and then write a twelve page research paper on it. Then we had to present it to a group of our peers and a couple of teachers. It was funny, while everyone did theirs on abortion or animal rights or something serious like that, I did mine on vampires. Ironic, no?**

**The next chapter will have Jacob's POV! And Bella!**

**Reviews are yummy!**


	5. Jacob

**So I have some good news for everyone: Last night I planned out all the chapters until chapter 12. And you know what? This story is going to be sorta long. I didn't realize it until I stared writing everything out. My mother has been on me about getting away from the computer lately, but this story just really wants to be written; I already have up to chap 7 typed out. Pretty good, huh? I'm going to try to start on chap 8 tonight.**

**I want to thank everyone who reviewed and added me to their favorites and alerts! Rest assured, I am writing down all your names, so I do know who you are! You are all so great for giving me such encouragement!**

**Also, this is mostly Jacob's POV, so I hope I got him right this time. Once I got into it, it felt like he came easily to me.**

**Disclamier: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Gwen belongs to me, but you'll have to ask Jacob if you want to barrow her :)**

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><p><em>"What you see depends on what you'rre looking for"-<em>unknown

_"In three words I can sum up what I've learned about life: It goes on"-_Robert Frost

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><p>I was unbelievably bored the next day. I mostly just hung around the house and did nothing but watch TV. I was bored the whole time, and I wondered if maybe it was because I was getting back to normal. Back before the incident I was always doing something, always had energy to burn. I was like mom that way. Mom was always on the move; sometimes I could barely keep up with her.<p>

Thinking of mom I decided to call her. I hadn't talked to her since she called me from LA to let me know she got home alright. So I picked up the phone and dialed for home.

It rang a few times before someone answered, and it wasn't who I wanted to hear.

"Hello, Collins residence."

I gritted my teeth. "Why are you answering with 'Collins residence'?" I growled. "That isn't your house!"

Rick sighed on the other end. "Hello, Gwendolyn. How are you?"

"I'd be better if I didn't just hear you answer the phone like that. It's not your house, and mom's not married to you! Where is she anyway?" I demanded.

There was a short pause that got me a little suspicious before he answered. "She's not here."

"Well, obviously! Where is she? She doesn't work until the night shift, so wouldn't she be asleep right now?" I asked, saturating my voice with all the teenage attitude I could.

Rick sighed again. If I had spoken to mom the way I was speaking to him, she would have gone off on me by now. But this was Rick, AKA , and he was all about getting your feelings out.

"You seem to be in a bad mood." He said calmly. "How are you feeling right now?"

"Like if it was possible I would reach through this phone and strangle you." I spit.

"I see your temper hasn't improved. I told you it's not healthy to bottle up all that anger, Gwendolyn." He reminded me.

"God, you piss me off." I growled. "Just tell me where my mother is so I can talk to her!"

"She went out with a few friends." Rick said.

That made me pause. Mom hardly ever went out with her friends. At least not on a weekday. Usually she slept during the day because she worked the night shift at the hospital. If she wanted to talk to her friends, she usually talked to them over the phone.

"Why?"

"She had some news she wanted to share with them." He said, sounding strangely pleased.

That got me even more suspicious. "What kind of news?"

"You might take it better coming from her. I'll have her call you when she gets in tonight."

And then the only thing I could hear was the ring tone. I looked at the phone in shock.

"That bastard just hung up on me!" I exclaimed. "Urg!" I slammed the phone down on the receiver.

I had to get out of here now. Now I was pissed and stir crazy. I glanced out the window. It was strangely sunny again today so I decided to go jogging.

I've always had a bad temper, ever since I was a little kid. Mom put me into sports to work off all the stress and energy it left me with, but now that I wasn't in high school anymore, it's not like I had recreational sports to keep me busy. And I doubt La Push or Forks had any sports teams I could join. So jogging would have to do.

I pulled on my blue jogging suit and running shoes, clipping my iPod on my waist and putting the buds in my ears. I went outside and did a few stretches on the damp grass, keeping an eye on the woods in front of my house.

What if that wolf was still out there? He hadn't seemed shy about coming out onto the road, so why wouldn't he do it again? Maybe this time he would think I looked like a tasty snack.

And Jacob. I hadn't heard or seen him since he left yesterday. Did he get home alright? I'm sure we would have heard something by now if he had been attacked or eaten by wolves.

But I decided to risk it. Obviously my mom was going to tell me something later, and if it pleased Rick it was probably going to piss me off. I really disliked that man. And, if I was being honest, Rick really wasn't a bad guy. He took care of my mom and treated her right. He just irritated me to no end with his talk about me being delusional and confused about reality from reading Anne Rice books. I hated when I had to have a therapy session with him.

Thinking about all this was just making me more upset, so I decided to risk being made into wolf kibble. I decided I would jog to First Beach and back.

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><p><strong>Jacob POV<strong>

I couldn't believe it. An imprint. After everything I had gone through, all those times I had tried to make it happen with Bella, after walking all over Port Angeles and Seattle, and even after I had left, it turns out she was here, at home. Maybe a part of me knew that; maybe that was why I had such a longing to come home, after being away for so long. Maybe it was because fate or whoever, knew she was going to be there.

And she was nothing like Bella, not even a little, not in looks or personality or body. But there was one thing she had that reminded me of Bella; Gwen had the same look on her face sometimes that _she_ did after that bloodsucker left her.

But even that wasn't the same. There was something different about the look on Gwen's face. I first noticed it in her room, when she mentioned a friend of hers. She looked like she was reliving something horrifying. When Bella got that look on her face she just looked like she was in pain. I didn't like either looks.

My reaction with Gwen was different. When I saw that look on her face I nearly panicked. What had happened? Was she okay? I had wanted to gather her up and simply hold her to me until that look was gone. I had almost done it, simply wrapped my arms around her and held her, but I hadn't got the chance. Because almost as it was there, that horrified look on her face was gone, and she had started working like nothing had been wrong. Bella had never tried to hide how hurt she was. I honestly don't think she ever could; she just wore her emotions on her face like that. Bella had been easy to read, Gwen wasn't.

When I first saw her she was glowing. Her skin was glowing bright and warm, like the sun, but I couldn't look away, I didn't want too. She had pulled me in. All I could see anymore was her. But that was okay; she was all I wanted to look at anymore. I had once told Bella she was like a little doll, fragile and breakable. Gwen wasn't. She was smaller than Bella, shorter than her, but fuller with more curves. She looked like if she fell, she wouldn't break. Compared to Gwen, Bella was like a porcelain doll, sitting on a shelf and gathering dust.

When we had been talking on her back porch, the wind had blown her scent toward me, and for a second I thought I might really be on drugs like she thought. Her scent was…intoxicating. It was like no other scent I had smelled before. Not flowery like most girls were, like Bella's had been, but fruity and tropical, with an ocean breeze. Like someone had just decided to plant mangos and pineapples and oranges all together in the same place by the beach.

I sighed, leaning back on my bed, my arms behind my head. So this was what imprinting was like, for real, not just a memory from the pack. I always knew what it was like, thanks to Sam and Jared and Quil. Although I don't think Quil should count since all he felt for Claire was a need to make her safe and happy. I felt that for Gwen too, but this was more than just brotherly affection. I wanted to get to know her; I wanted to know everything about her. I wanted to know her quirks and hobbies, her fears and dreams. I wanted to hold her and comfort her when she was scared, laugh with her when she was happy, and protect her if she ever needed it.

I wanted _her_.

A knock on my door actually made me jump. I could usually hear Billy as he came down the hallway, but I had been so caught up thinking about Gwen, I hadn't even noticed.

"Jake, you've got a phone call." Billy called.

I noticed the hesitance in his voice, which wasn't like him at all. Getting up with a groan, I popped my neck and opened the door. Billy was looking up at me with a slight frown.

"Who is it?" I asked, yawning.

"Bella." He said, eyeing my reaction.

Weirdly enough, I didn't have much of one. My heart didn't skip a beat like it used to whenever she had called, and I didn't feel like darting over to the phone to talk to her. I did feel a little angry though. How could she just call out of the blue like this? But that was just Bella.

"What does she want?" I asked, even though I knew.

Billy sighed. "To talk to you. I guess she heard you got back the other night and wanted to talk to you. She sound's worried."

"Yeah, I'll just bet she is." I said sarcastically, trudging into the living room.

I snatched up the phone were Billy had set it down. "Hello?"

"Oh, Jake!" her familiar wind chime voice made me wince. How come I had never noticed how high it was before? Like metal hitting metal.

"Jake how are you? Are you okay? Where have you been, it's been months!" she asked, sounding panicked.

For some reason she sounded like a worried mother to me, like a mother who was relieved her child was back from running away from home. Is that how she saw me now? Is that how she had always seen me? The thought made me a little sad, but it didn't matter anymore. I had Gwen now.

"Yeah, sorry Bells" I said. "I just had to get away for a while. Clear my head, you know?"

There was a pause on the other end, and I knew what she was doing. She was trying to decide what to say. She always did that before she said something that would rip my heart out. I had learned to prepare myself for the blow whenever she hesitated, but this time I didn't. Somehow I doubted anything she said could hurt me anymore.

"Was it my fault?" she whispered.

Yes, I wanted to yell. Yes, it was your fault I took off after facing down those Italian leeches for you. To protect your kid, the one you had with that bloodsucker and who killed you. Not that I really hated your kid. It wasn't the kid's fault it had been born. It was your bloodsuckers. Yeah, I still hated him. Because even if I didn't feel that way for you anymore, it was still his fault your one of them now. Looking at it that way, it was his fault for everything. Not yours.

"No Bells." I said. "It wasn't your fault. I just needed to get away for a while."

"Well," she paused again. "How would you feel about coming to visit me? I haven't seen you in forever."

Hmm, what to do, what to do? Should I go visit her and the other bloodsuckers, or should I just stay here and think about Gwen? Maybe I could go visit her before my shift started. I wonder what she's doing…

"Jake? Are you still there?" Bella's voice floated into my ear, jerking me back to reality.

"Oh, yeah, I'm still here. What was the question?" I asked stupidly. Thinking about Gwen would really mess me up. And I had only known her for a day. Geez.

There was another pause. "Did you want to come over and visit me? Please?"

Her voice was timid and slightly pleading. I remember how I use to think it was cute. Now it was just kind of sad, like a little girl's voice. Gwen didn't speak like that. She had spoken with confidence the whole time yesterday, especially when questioning me about drugs. That had been hilarious.

"Um, well, actually Bella, I have patrol later. I was planning on catching a few zz's before then."

I had never flat out lied to Bella before. I felt a little bad about it, but the fact that I was lying to her so I could go visit Gwen made it a little better.

"Please, Jake?" she pleaded. "You can sleep here for a little while if you like. I'll even make you lunch before you go. Just come over for a little while. I really want to see you."

Had she always been this selfish and needy? I don't think she had. Must be because she was like them now; they were all like that. It was just another reason to hate them. Except for maybe Esme and the Doc. They were alright.

I sighed, feeling myself caving. "Alright, I guess. But I want a big T-bone for lunch. With a baked potato."

Like a T-bone could make up for lost time with my imprint. I felt like bashing my head through a window for being so stupid.

"Oh, Jake thank you! I'll see you soon, alright!"

I winced; her voice had gotten high again. But she sounded happy, and that was okay, I guess. But I still had to stop myself from ramming my head through the living room window.

"Sure, sure. See you soon."

I hung up with a sigh, turning to see Billy gazing up at me. The look on his face was the one I always hated seeing when I was a kid. Disapproving and disappointed.

"You're really going over there?" he asked.

"Just for a little bit. My shift starts at two, so it's not like I'll be over there all day." I said, glancing at the clock. It was ten now.

"You don't want to see Gwen today? You seemed pretty happy when you came home last night." Billy said.

I looked at him in disbelief. How could he think I wouldn't want to see her?

"Of course I want to see her!" I exclaimed. "But you know Bella. She'll keep calling and calling, until finally her bloodsucker will call and tell me how much I'm killing her. It's better to just go over now so I don't have to keep dodging them later. Besides it'll only be for a couple of hours."

Billy gave me a weird look, like he couldn't believe I had come to that kind of logic. "That's…pretty smart, son."

I frowned. What, did he think I was an idiot? I guess I was a little, for not seeing that Bella would never choose me. But it didn't seem to matter at the time.

I walked toward the door, pulling off my shirt and tossing it on the couch. "I'll see you later, Dad."

"Be careful." He responded.

I ran into the forest and phased quickly, my shorts tied around my back leg. I took off at a trot, not really that eager to get to where I was going. But Gwen's house was on the way. Maybe I could peek inside really quick. I had tried to look into her window last night, but her curtains had been closed tight. And it wasn't one of those open and close windows, like Bella's had been. I guess I was greatfull for that. It meant nothing short of a vamp could get in and hurt her. But it also meant that I wouldn't be able to sneak in once we were together.

"_Oh my god would you stop thinking about her! You're making me sick."_ Leah's voice floated into my head.

"_Hey, Jake!"_ Seth's voice greeted happily.

I ignored him. _"Shut up, Leah. Mind your own business."_

"_Yeah, Leah!"_ Seth chirped. _"He's only spent one day with her! Give him a break."_

"_I guess I should be greatfull you aren't together yet."_ Leah grumbled. _"Once that happens I'll have to endure all your disgusting sexual fantasies. At least they won't be about that Swan bitch anymore."_

I growled. Even if I didn't feel that way about Bella anymore, she was still my friend. Leah didn't have any right to talk about her like that.

Leah scoffed. _"Yeah, right. You know she was a bitch for what she did to you, Jake. You're just still too blind to see it."_

"_Shut up, Leah!"_ I yelled. _"Keep talking like that and you'll be out here until tomorrow_ _morning."_ I threatened, just a touch of the alpha power in my voice.

She grumbled, but didn't respond, much to my satisfaction. I could feel Seth smiling.

"_Oh, yeah!"_ he exclaimed. _"I saw Gwen a few minutes ago. She was running."_

An image of Gwen, her hair tied up and an iPod in her ears came to my head. She was wearing a blue jogging suit that showed off her hips perfectly. But the look on her face was angry.

I wondered why she was upset, and I had to really focus to keep myself from phasing back and go to her. If I didn't go visit Bella now she would never let up.

"_What!"_ Leah screamed, outraged. _"You're actually going to go see that bitch! What's wrong with you?"_

"_Didn't you hear what I just said?"_ I yelled back, irritated. _"If I don't go now Bella will never shut up about it! Better I just get it over with now instead of ignoring her all the time."_

"_You're pathetic."_ Leah spit. _"Even now that you have an imprint, you still can't let Swan go. She's got her hooks so deep into you; you'd give up your own imprint to be with her."_

I wave of horror washed over me at her words. No. No, I would never give up Gwen. Not for anything. Not even for Bella. I couldn't.

Leah scoffed. _"Yeah right. I'll believe it when I see it."_

"_Tell Esme and Edward I said hi, okay?"_ Seth said.

"_Sure, kid."_ I responded, feeling slightly worn out.

Bella was waiting for me when I got there. She was standing on the porch with the bloodsucker and Nessie, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet.

She threw herself at me once I phased back and dressed, her skin hard and cold and her scent burning my nose.

"Oh, Jake!" she sobbed. "I was so worried! Where have you been?" she asked, stepping back to look at me.

I shrugged. "Here and there."

Nessie came up to me then, the bloodsucker following behind. Nessie had grown in the few months I had been gone. When I had left she had been the size of a toddler. Now she was as big as an eight year old.

"Hey, Nessie." I said, ruffling her long hair and ignoring Bella's huff. She had always hated that I called her daughter that. But Nessie seemed to like it. She beamed up at me, but didn't speak, as usual.

"Hello, Jacob." The bloodsucker said politely.

I narrowed my eyes. "Edward."

"How have you been, Jake?" Bella asked.

She stood there with her hands clasped to her chest, her gold eyes worried. It was that same stance she always had when she was worried or sad or upset. Seeing her standing there like that, perfect and cold and fragile, it reminded me of a clingy damsel in distress. Or those annoying girls back at school that use to try and hang all over me and the rest of the pack. Had she always looked like that?

I noticed the bloodsucker's puzzled look, and I instantly knew he was reading my thoughts, like he always did. It made me feel good to know I was confusing him. He frowned.

"Yes, you are." He said voice flat.

Bella and Nessie looked between us, curious. I wondered how they would take the news about Gwen.

"Gwen?" Edward asked, still puzzled.

I felt anger starting to boil up in my blood. I didn't like hearing her name coming from his mouth. It sounded…wrong.

I watched as his expression faded into a frown, and then suddenly cleared, a pleased smile coming to his face that made me sick. He knew.

"Yes." He smiled. "Congratulations, Jacob." He said pleasantly.

Yeah, I bet he was pleased. Bella seemed to get frustrated, looking back and forth between us. Nessie seemed bored.

"What? What's going on?" Bella demanded.

"It seems Jacob has finally imprinted." Edward said, smiling at her.

Bella's face lit up. She was practically glowing, but not in the same way Gwen had.

"Jake that's wonderful! I'm so happy for you!" she exclaimed.

I bet she was pleased too. Now she didn't have to worry about me pining after her. The bloodsucker too.

Edward's face darkened at my bitter thoughts, but he didn't say anything. I didn't care.

"When can we meet her?" Bella asked.

The word was out of my mouth before I could even think it. "Never."

Her face fell. "Why not?"

"Because she doesn't know about any of this." I said, gesturing my hands toward them. "And you're still really…new, Bella." I said, grimacing at the word. "I don't want you losing control around her."

Both Bella and the bloodsucker frowned. Nessie had gone back into the house, our conversation to boring to her.

"But I have really good control for my age, Jake." Bella said. "You know that. I would never even think about hurting your imprint."

I shook my head. "No way, Bells. It's not going to happen."

"But-"

"Bella, love." Edward stepped in then, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Jacob barely even knows Gwen right now. Give them some time together first."

I growled, shivering. There he goes, saying her name so casually like that. "Quit saying her name."

He smiled that smile I hated. "My apologies."

Yeah right. I knew he wasn't sorry.

Bella sighed. "You're right. Sorry. I just got so excited."

Edward smiled at her lovingly. "I know, love."

It actually made me sick, and not in way it used too, before I found Gwen. It made me feel sick in the same way Sam looked at Emily. But I guess now I could understand a little.

Bella looked up at me. "But I still want to meet her, eventually."

I shook my head. There was no way I was ever bringing Gwen over here. Not with Bella being so new, Blondie hating my guts, and the emo one always fighting for control. No way. It wasn't going to happen. Not if I could help it. If I had my way, Gwen would never meet the Cullens.

Not ever.

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><p><strong>Gwen isn't really that much of a bitch, she just really doesn't like the way Rick treats her. And how was Jacob and the rest? I always worry about getting characters down right, but I guess maybe the only one who can really do that is Stephenie Meyer. But let me know what you guys think. Although I know I don't even have to ask :)<strong>

**The rest of the pack will be in the next chapter!**

**Reviews make me smile ;)**


	6. Emily's House

**Hello everyone. I was glad to see that most of you who reviewed thought I did a good job writing Jacob's POV; it made me really happy.**

**So last night it was like lightning struck me. I typed out chap 8, and that snag I had about what happens after chap 12 untangled. I literally jumped out of bed to write down what I want to happen and all the details before I forgot it. I thought it was brilliant, and I hope you will too.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I own Gwen, and sore fingers and wrists from typing like a mad woman the last couple of days.**

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><p>"<em>The roads of life are strewn with the wreckage of run-down and half-finished loves"-<em>Ralph Sockman

"_Friends are like bras. Close to your heart and there for support"-_unknown

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><p>Mom didn't call me until the next afternoon. I'd bet it was because Rick "forgot" to tell her. I really did hate that man.<p>

Dad was the one who answered the phone. He was just getting ready to leave for work when it rang, and he had got to it before I had. I watched as he talked to her for a few minutes, wondering why he had that look on his face. Like he was dreading something.

"That's great, May. Congratulations." He said, glancing at me.

I frowned. What had happened to make my dad congratulate her and then look at me like he was preparing himself? He handed me the phone.

"You're mother wants to talk to you. Try not to get to upset." He cautioned.

I threw him a puzzled look as I put the phone to my ear. "Hey, Mom. What's up?"

"Oh, Gwen, honey, you sound wonderful!" she said, sounding extremely cheerful "You haven't said "what's up" to me in such a long time! I knew you would get better with your father!"

Huh. I guess I hadn't said "what's up" in a while. I use to say it all the time a year ago. Maybe I really was starting to get back to my old self.

"You sound really excited, Mom. What happened?" I asked.

"Oh, Gwen, you'll never believe it! Rick asked me to marry him!"

If I had to be honest with myself, I wasn't _that_ upset. I only yelled my objections for a few minutes, and this made Mom happier. She said I sounded like myself again. Dad had to snatch the phone out of my hand so I wouldn't slam it down onto the receiver, and after that he told me to go outside and take a run.

I didn't run so much as I stomped, growling and steaming the whole time. How dare that egocentric, self-absorbed blowhard ask my mother to marry him? My smart, beautiful, hardworking mother? He was the one with the PhD and he couldn't tell that she was way too good for him? I swear I was so angry I wanted to punch something.

I walked for a while, until I was near First Beach, near the cliffs that lined and over looked the gray water. It wasn't raining today, but it was looking a little gray, like the sky might burst any moment.

The sound of far-off yelling caught my attention. Looking toward the tree line, I saw a group of people gathered on the ledge of one of the smaller cliffs, one of the smaller boys looking downward. Then a few of the others pushed the boy off.

I only panicked for a second, until a few more of the boys jumped off as well, hooting and hollering on the way down. They were cliff-diving. It looked like fun; maybe a good scream into freezing cold water would help me cool down.

So I trotted over. It was the La Push "pack boys" as I had heard them called. All of them gathered together, along with a few girls. I recognized Emily sitting on a fallen tree, wearing a bathing suit, along with two other girls. She waved at me with a friendly smile, while one girl looked away shyly and the other scowled.

"Hey guys." I said, waving as I walked toward them.

They turned, faces splitting into grins when they saw me. Seth bounded forward, looking for all the world like a puppy greeting his master.

"Hi, Gwen! It's been forever since we've seen you!" he smiled, giving me a huge hug.

"It's only been a few days, Seth." I said flatly as he released me.

"And that's a long time for us!" Quil yelled from his place on the edge of the cliff. I watched as he jumped off and spun around, winking and waving at me as he fell.

"Gwen!"

I turned at my name. Jacob, Jared, and one of the younger boys were jogging back towards us, dripping wet. They must have been the ones I saw jump off before. The younger boy, who I recognized as Collin, had an upset look on his face. He must have been the one they pushed.

Jacob bounded up to me, beaming. "What are you doing here? I was going to invite you but I didn't think you'd come." He said a bit sheepishly.

I shrugged, not caring. "My mom got engaged and I needed something to keep me from exploding. So I went for a walk." I said.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Don't you want your mom to get married?"

"Not to the guy she's getting married_ too_. Rick's an emotional tight-ass." I said tightly.

They laughed. "Sounds to me you could use some anger management." Jared said. "Do you want to cliff dive with us?"

"She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to." Jacob said, throwing Jared a threatening look.

"No, I'll do it." I said, pulling off my jacket. "I think maybe if I scream a little I'll feel better."

I walked over to the three girls sitting on the tree log. Emily stood and hugged me when I approached, like Seth had done. It surprised me, since I had only met both of them once.

"Hello, Gwen. How have you been?" she asked.

"I've been better actually." I said, tossing my jacket over the log. I looked at the other two girls.

Emily frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that." And she really did sound sorry. She turned to the other girls. "Let me introduce you. This is Leah, my cousin, and Kim, Jared's girlfriend." She said, motioning to each one.

"Hi. Nice to meet you." I said, nodding.

Kim smiled a little hesitantly at me. "Hello." She said in a breathy voice.

She was Quileute, with wide cheek bones and small, but pretty eyes. Her hair was long and thick down her back, and her skin was very clear and smooth looking. It had that glow most girls would kill for.

Leah nodded at me, her scowl still in place. "Hey." She simply said, her voice bored and tense.

Leah was beautiful. She was easily as tall as a supermodel and just as thin as one, but had definite muscles on her arms. Her hair was short, cut at about her chin, smooth and silky looking. But her eyes looked angry, a permanent scowl across her face. She looked like someone had stuck a stick up her ass. I decided I would be very careful around her. She looked like someone whose attitude might piss me off, and I didn't want to get into a fight with her. Verbally or physically; I honestly didn't think I could take her.

"Are you going to jump with the boys?" Emily asked, motioning to Brady and Collin, who were preparing to jump.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"You really don't have to if you don't want too, Gwen." Jacob's voice said behind me, causing me to jump. I hadn't even heard him approach.

I turned to look at him. "I want too. I've cliff dived before."

"You have?" Jacob and the rest asked at once, eyes wide.

I felt a bit insulted. "Yeah, me and a few friends went to Lake Havasu a few years ago for spring break. We jumped there."

"Awesome!" Seth exclaimed. "Do you want to jump with me?"

"Step back, kid." Jacob said, coming up next to me. "If she's going to jump with anyone it's going to be with me." He grinned.

"Whatever. I just want to jump." I said, marching over to the edge.

Sam took a step toward me. "Do I need to tell you how to fall?" he asked.

"No. I got it." I said, looking down.

It was a bit of a long drop, and the water below looked cold and choppy. I looked up at the sky as the wind picked up slightly. It looked like it was going to start raining any second.

"Having second thoughts?" Quil asked, grinning.

I looked back at all of them. They were standing around me, all grinning, like they thought I would chicken out. Beyond them, the three girls on the log watched curiously. Quil leaned over and whispered something I didn't hear in Embry's ear. He grinned and nodded, slapping Quil's hand. Paul, who was standing next to them, snickered. Jacob scowled at them, then looked at me with understanding eyes.

"You really don't have to do it, Gwen. No one's forcing you." He said.

I turned back to the edge and jumped off without a word. I thought I heard Jacob gasp and Embry laugh, but I was already gone. The wind was cold and sharp as I fell, and the water was just as bad. It felt like I was being electrocuted as I cut though the water like a knife, my breath nearly knocked out of me. I kicked hard against the current, surfacing with a gasp.

I looked up through my water logged eyes, seeing the group of boys on the ledge.

"You okay down there?" I heard Quil shout.

I waved up at them, letting them know I was okay. Cold and slightly out of breath, but okay.

I screamed when I felt a hot hand suddenly grab my arm. Whirling around I was met with Jacob Black's laughing face. He looked thrilled. "Sorry. You okay?"

"You just scared the crap out of me, you ass! When did you jump?" I exclaimed, spitting some water out of my mouth. It was getting harder to keep my head above the waves.

He let out a barking laugh. "Just after you. C'mon, let's get out of here. The waters starting to get kind of rough."

To my surprise, he grabbed me and slung me over his back, wrapping my arms around his neck. He started to swim back to shore, his muscles moving strong and firm under my arms. I suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable, which was a first since it's not like I hadn't been this close to a guy before.

"What are you doing?" I asked with outrage. "I can swim!"

"Yeah, I saw." He said sarcastically. "The way you were treading water there're minded me of a drowning dog."

"Dogs can swim." I said. "They don't drown."

He turned his head slightly so he could see me out of the corner of his eye. He grinned. "They don't." he agreed.

I didn't have anything to say to that so I just huffed. "Whatever, Flipper."

He let out another bark like laugh and continued to swim for shore, where everyone had come to greet us. Emily had a backpack over her shoulder, and Jared was holding one was well, only his was pink and brown. I assumed it was Kim's.

"So how'd I do?" I asked as Jacob stood up, grabbing my knees so I wouldn't fall.

"Pretty good. You got me ten bucks." Embry smiled, waving a crumpled ten dollar bill in the air.

I scowled, looking over a Quil. "Is that what you were whispering about? You bet that I wouldn't jump?"

Quil shrugged, unconcerned. "You win some, you lose some."

Emily stepped forward. "We're all going back to back to my house. Would you like to come, Gwen?"

I shrugged. "I'll have to call my dad to let him know."

She smiled and nodded. "That's fine. You can borrow some of my clothes once you dry off."

We started to walk toward Jacob's Rabbit and a Jeep that was parked near the road. But I wasn't walking; Jacob had yet to put me down. I tapped his shoulder.

He looked back at me. "Hm?"

"You mind putting me down?" I asked patiently.

He faced forward again. "No." But he didn't make a move to drop me.

"Put me down Jacob." I said. "I hate being carried."

He turned back and gave me a rueful grin. "Why? We're almost back to the car. You should feel special; not many girls can say they've been given a piggy back by Jacob Black."

I tsked. "Yeah, I'll bet that's every girl's life ambition. I, however, aim a little higher."

He snorted in amusement, but by then we really were at the cars. He opened the front door of his Rabbit and deposited me into the front seat.

"Hey, I called shot gun on the way back!" Embry pouted.

Jacob turned to him. "You made money off of her, so she gets shot gun. It's only fair."

Embry huffed and I stuck my tongue out at him. "Loser."

Quil and Seth snickered while Jacob just grinned happily.

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><p>Emily's place was a cute little house that looked like every other house in La Push; short and squat with only one level and one small living room window. It was gray like all the rest, with a wide porch that had a swing on it, and a few flowers blooming in pots on the ledges surrounding it. It was in better shape than some of the La Push houses I had seen, and I couldn't help but think that Sam had something to do with it.<p>

I quickly called my dad to let him know where I was, and although he didn't seem to like the fact that Jacob was there, he did seem pleased that I was making friends.

"Hey, Jacob." I called over to him.

He and the rest of the boys had situated themselves all over Emily's small living room, three of them squished on the couch and the rest on the floor. Leah sat in a corner with her legs crossed and scowled into space, while Sam had claimed the only other chair in the room. Jacob sat on the couch with Embry and Jared. He looked up at me questionably.

"How come my dad doesn't like you?" I asked straight out. "He seemed fine the other night when he saw you at the bonfire."

A few of the guys snickered, watching Jacob's face, which looked a little guilty. "I don't know." He answered.

"You're lying." I said.

Jacob's eyes grew wide, innocent looking. "What makes you say that?"

I crossed my arms. "Because my dad doesn't not like anyone, not unless he has a reason. So what did you do?"

When it was silent, except for the occasional snicker, I spoke again. "Is it because you're on drugs?"

The guys automatically burst into roars of laughter, Jacob's face going a little red. Even Leah and Sam grinned a little.

"I told you I wasn't on drugs." Jacob grumbled.

"Hm. Whatever you say." I said, giving him another suspicious look.

Emily's head emerged from the kitchen then. "Gwen, could you come help Kim and I in the kitchen for a minute?"

I trotted into the kitchen, leaving the laughing boys behind me, only to have my eyes go wide at the sight of all the food. It was all over the place; every inch of Emily's kitchen counters were covered in some sort of food dish.

"Holy hell, Emily! Did you make all this?" I exclaimed.

Emily blushed. "Kim helped."

Kim also blushed, but much more heavily. "Only a little."

"Damn. Do they really eat this much?" I asked, picking up a large dish of mac and cheese.

Emily gave me a cautious stare. "Just wait until you see."

It was horrible. I had never seen people eat the way those boys did. Pigs were cleaner than they were. They were like dogs fighting over the last scrap of meat, devouring and sometimes fighting over who got what. But the confrontation usually ended quickly, and they went back to punching and joking with each other playfully. One would laugh at something, and then the others would join in, causing the whole living room to shake. They were the loudest, rowdiest pack of boys I had ever encountered. They looked like a band of brothers.

I sat with Kim, Leah and Emily in the kitchen, watching them with wide eyes. "How can you deal with this all the time?" I asked.

Emily smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way." She said smiling gently over at the table of boys, lingering on Sam's rough face. She looked back at me. "They're like brothers to me now. I enjoy taking care of them. Don't you have any siblings?"

I shook my head. "No. I'm an only child and my mom worked a lot. I hung out with my friends often, but they were never like this."

Emily smiled. "Well, you'll get used to it. I doubt Jacob will let you just let you go off on your own now."

I looked at her, puzzled, but didn't say anything. I couldn't really think of anything to say. I did notice that Jacob did seem to have a thing for me, and while he was extremely good looking, I didn't think I was ready to start dating again. Not after what happened to Michael.

I cut my thoughts off, not wanting to think about his death. I didn't want to forget him, but I felt like if I thought about him too much my chest might crack open, right along my scar. I started to rub at it, gaining Emily's attention.

"Are you alright, Gwen?" She asked with concern.

"Yeah." I said, looking up at her. "I think I'm going to go outside. It's a little hot in here."

It was sprinkling outside, but not too badly. Either way I didn't want to get wet, so I grabbed an umbrella by the backdoor.

Emily's backyard was fenced in but still huge, a BBQ pit near one side and a few picnic benches on the other. I noticed a child's tricycle and some toys under one of the trees and wondered if maybe Emily or Sam had a kid.

I spotted a latter on one side of the house, and I decided to climb up to the roof. When I was a kid, Dad and I would climb up onto his roof and look at the stars while it was clear during the summer. I did it sometimes back home, and it scared mom to no end. She was often afraid I would fall.

"Gwen?"

I peered over the edge of the roof, umbrella open over my shoulder, and saw Jacob standing in the middle of the yard, looking around.

"Up here." I called.

He turned around and spotted me, his eyes instantly going the size of dinner plates.

"Gwen! What are you doing up there? You'll fall!" he exclaimed, an edge of panic in his voice.

I rolled my eyes. "God, you sound like my mother. I'm not going to fall."

"Hang on." Jacob said, holding up his hands. "I'm coming up to get you."

I huffed, rolling my eyes again as I heard him coming up the latter. "What is it with you and thinking I'm going to fall? You were alright with me falling off a cliff this afternoon."

"That was different." He said, crawling over to me. "That was cliff diving and there were lots of people around if something happened. This time you're sitting on a roof!"

I sighed, leaning my cheek on my hand. "People go up on roofs all the time. Why can't I?"

He shook his head with a sigh, coming to sit next to me. "You're something else."

I kind of smiled, taking that as a complement. "You know, you're the only guy I've ever met who actually really worries about me. And we barely even know each other."

He wrapped one arm around me, pulling me closer and holding me against him tightly. I looked up at him questioningly, and he blushed.

"So you don't fall." He said.

"Uh-huh. Convenient excuse. Good thing I'm sitting on this roof, huh?" I said, watching as his face grew darker.

He cleared his throat. "So tell me something about yourself, since we don't really know each other."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Something nobody else knows about you." He said, giving me a little smile.

I thought for a minute. What didn't anyone know about me? "I like to chug hot sauce."

He gave me a disgusted look. "That's not healthy. And hot sauce is gross."

I scoffed. "Please. I saw the way you guys were shoving food down your throats back there, and I gotta say, eating like that is not healthy, period."

He smiled, chuckling. "You've got an answer for everything, don't you?"

"Of course." I said. "It's who I am."

We sat in silence for a little while, me sitting under the umbrella, Jake getting damp (which he didn't seem to notice or mind), with our feet dangling off the edge of the roof, his hot arm around me, keeping me warm. It felt nice, just sitting here in silence with him. It felt…comfortable. Like I was just sitting with a friend I had known for years.

"So…" I trailed off, not sure if I should ask "…do you have a girlfriend?"

He grimaced slightly, letting out a huff of air. "No."

I knew that look, the look of someone who had been rejected. I nodded sagely. "She didn't want you did she?"

He shook his head, not seeming to care that I had just asked a possibly hurtful, personal question. "Sucks, huh?"

He looked over at me, frowning. "What do you mean?"

"It sucks when someone you love doesn't want you. I know that feeling." I looked at him with understanding.

Jacob kept frowning, an air of puzzlement surrounding him. "How could anyone not want you?" he asked in disbelief.

I actually laughed, just a little. "You'd be surprised."

"Was it that boy?" he asked, "The one in the picture I broke. Did he leave you?" he asked, still frowning, but now it seemed angrier.

I inhaled, my stomach twisting again as images came to mind. I guess I could tell him. Maybe it would help to have someone who didn't think I was crazy to know about Michael's death. But of course I wouldn't be giving him any details. I wouldn't talk to these people about how he died. They'd just look at me like everyone back home did. Like I should be in a mental hospital.

"In a way." I breathed. "He was killed a year ago." I whispered, looking back down at the ground.

I heard him take in a sharp breath, his arm tensing on my shoulders. He pulled me to him, so my cheek rested against his chest, wrapping his other arm around me. I felt his hot breath on top of my head as he hugged me close.

"I'm so sorry, Gwen." He whispered, voice gentle and full of sadness.

I actually felt tears come to my eyes. He sounded so sincere, like he could really feel the pain I felt. People had apologized to me about Michael's death, apologized that I had seen something so gruesome, but it was never like this. No one ever seemed to really mean it like Jacob did.

I pulled away from him slowly, letting his arm fall from my shoulders and feeling the cold creep back onto my skin as Jacob's intense warmth left me. I wiped away at my eyes, feeling a few of the tears slip out.

"Thanks." I sniffled, "But its okay. Nobody could have done anything about it."

He looked at my face, but the look on his wasn't pity. It was understanding and sadness. It made me happy that he understood.

"Bella, the girl who rejected me," He said, still looking at me. "In a way, she was killed too."

I sniffled again, wiping at my nose. "What do you mean?" I asked.

He looked away, his face staring off into space like he was remembering something.

"She got married about a year ago, and got pregnant pretty soon after. She…died giving birth to the baby." He grimaced, remembering something painful.

"Oh, Jacob. I'm really sorry." I said, and I did actually mean it. That must have been just as bad as Michael's death. Maybe worse. Because this Bella girl had broken Jacob's heart when she rejected him, then again when she died. At least when Michael had died I had him. "You really loved her, didn't you?"

He looked down at the ground, both his hands on his knees. He took a deep breath. "Yeah." He said, letting it out slowly. "But I think I'm doing okay now." He turned and smiled at me. "What about you? Does it still hurt?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it does." I looked up at him and actually smiled back. "But I think it could get better."

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><p><strong>I thought out a goal for myself: I want this story done before school starts for me again, which will be in two weeks. I think at the way I'm going, I might meet that goal. I just have to keep the juices flowing, and you guys can help by keeping up your encouragement. I can't tell you how much I love seeing so many reviews, alerts and favorites in my box every morning. It just blows me away and makes me want to write more for you!<strong>

**Reviews are loved! **


	7. Port Angeles

**Hello my faithful readers! I hope you enjoy this chapter because it's sort of a plot intro. A few weeks have passed by now, I'd say it's in the beginning of October and Gwen and Jacob know each other pretty well now. **

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, and Gwen belongs to me. Jacob and I often have arguments about this, even though Gwen claims not to belong to anyone.**

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><p>"<em>Just because I can stand on my own two feet doesn't mean I don't want to be swept away sometimes."-<em>unknown

"_Where you find true friendship, you also find true love."-_unknown

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><p>The next few weeks were, for lack of a better word, awesome. I hung out a lot with the pack, and in Jacob's shed when he was around. I would just watch him work on his Rabbit or motorcycle, which he had promised he would take me for a ride on, and we would talk about pointless and meaningless things. He told me he wanted to save up enough money to open his own garage, where he would do nothing but fix cars all day. He would talk to me about all the parts and pieces, but I would tell him not to bother; I didn't know anything about cars and wasn't really interested. But I did encourage him about opening up his own shop eventually. Cars really did seem to be his passion.<p>

Hanging out with Jacob and the rest of the pack was incredibly easy, like I had known them my whole life. I learned things about them too; like how Quil was the joker of the group and Paul had a temper worse than mine and was dating Jacob's sister Rachel, who was away at collage. Seth loved sweets more than any boy I had ever known, and Collin and Brady were only fifteen and loved video games (but what fifteen year old boy doesn't?). Embry was a bit more sensitive than the rest of them, but a joker non the less and Jared was the quite, big brother type. Jacob told me about Leah, since she never seemed that interested in talking to me.

Apparently she and Sam had a longtime thing for each other, until Sam met Emily. That made me lose some respect for both Sam and Emily (I had thought he was a dirt bag and she was a traitor), but when I saw how they acted and looked at each other I took my harsh words back. The way they looked at each other was so intense and filled with love, it made my stomach flutter and I had to look away.

A new found respect for Leah grew in me after that. I thought she was either really strong or really masochistic to be able to be in the same room with them when they looked at each other like that.

Dad didn't like the fact that I was hanging around them so much, but I think it was just his dislike for Jacob that colored his disapproval. However, when mom found out how good I was doing, she tore into him about letting me hangout with my new friends. Especially when she found out I had started smiling again. I even agreed to come to the wedding, although I admitted I still didn't like Rick and probably wouldn't have anything nice to say to him. Habits are hard to break after all.

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><p>Today was a slow day with nothing to do. Dad was at work, and the pack boys didn't seem to be around. It was rainy and gray outside, but I was dying to do something, just lying there and reading a worn copy of Angels and Demons.<p>

"Urg, I can't take it anymore!" I exclaimed, tossing my book onto my bed. I walked into the living room and grabbed the phone, dialing the Black's number.

Billy answered on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Hi, Billy!" I said, feeling cheerful. "It's Gwen."

"Hello, Gwen." He chuckled. "Looking for Jake?"

"Yep. I'm in dire need of amusement today. Is he around?" I asked.

Billy chuckled again, making me smile. "Sure, sure. One second."

A minute later I heard Jacob's clear voice, and I felt my heart warm. It had been doing that a lot lately when Jacob was around.

"Hey, Gwen! Billy said you needed some entertainment." I could hear the smile in his voice. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, you do owe me a new picture frame and a pair of boots. How about we go up to Port Angeles today?" I asked, gazing out at the rain.

"Sure, that's fine. I don't have patrol tonight, so I'm free." He said, sounding almost giddy.

Jacob had told me that he did indeed have a job, unlike I had first thought. Apparently he and the other boys helped Sam patrol around the reservation, keeping it safe. Personally, I didn't see the point. La Push and Forks had to have had the lowest crime rate in the nation. But, whatever made the elders feel better.

"Do you mind waiting a few minutes though? I'm sort of stuck finishing this one thing on the car first, or else I would come get you now. Sorry." He said sheepishly.

"It's okay. I'll just walk over." I said with a shrug.

"Gwen it's raining outside." He pointed out flatly.

"No, really? Here in La Push, rain?" I said sarcastically. "It's no big deal, Jacob. I do own several umbrellas."

"But-"

"Just shut up, Jacob. I'll be over in a few minutes." I huffed, hanging up on him.

I really hated it when he didn't want me to do stuff. Anything that may be unhealthy for me he was against. He didn't have to baby me; it really got on my nerves.

A few minutes later I was at the Black's house, my hair a little damp and my boots drenched. Billy saw me through the living room window and smiled with a wave, which I returned, heading around back towards Jacob's shed.

I found my friend under the frame of a red Volkswagen Beetle, working away. I knocked on the sheds tin door, looking at it in envy.

"Why do you always knock, Gwen?" Jacob's voice floated out from under the car questioningly.

"Because I'm so polite." I said, walking in. "When did you get this?" I asked, kicking at the beetle's frame. "You didn't have it last week when I was here."

Jacob pulled himself out from under the car. He was shirtless as usual, but this time he was covered in grease and sweat. It was incredibly sexy and I had to quickly look away before he caught me staring.

"Yeah, I found it up at the junk yard." He said, wiping his hands on a dirty rag. "It needs a lot of work, but I figured I could fix it up and sell it for some extra cash."

"That's cool. " I said, leaning on his work bench and trying to keep my eyes on the bug. "My mom had a beetle like this when I was a kid. Only her's was blue with a rainbow on the side." I laughed. "I always wanted one like it."

Jacob looked at me, smirking. "Can you even drive? I don't think I've seen you drive once."

I shot him a look. "I have my license. It's kind of hard not to when you live in Los Angeles, being the city of freeways and all."

He smiled widely. "Well, good. How about when I fix this baby up you take it?"

"For how much? I don't have a lot of money Jacob."

He seemed to ponder this for a moment before he grinned. "How about you just make me one of those huge burritos again and we call it even?"

My eyes widened. "What? No, Jacob, you're not just going to give me this car!"

"I'm not just giving it to you." He insisted, but he was still smiling. "I will work on it and fix it up for you, and you will cook me one of those delicious burritos you made a couple of weeks ago. Think of it as bartering."

I gave him a blank look. "Most people don't barter cars for burritos, you glutton."

He shrugged, seeming nonchalant, "Well, this is how it will be, Miss Willows. Take it or leave it."

"I'll give you money, Jacob. It must be expensive enough to fix." I said, eyeing said car.

He shook his head. "I don't want your money. I want your burritos. Nothing else." He smiled

"Urg. Fine. Then I won't take the car." I said, looking away.

Jacob shrugged. "Fine. Be stubborn. All I'm asking for is a burrito in exchange for a car. You're loss." He said, grinning at me as he walked by to go back into the house.

I huffed, looking at the little red bug. I really wanted it, but there was no way I was just going to make him my burritos in exchange for it. I had to give him some money, especially after he went through all the trouble of fix it. Jacob was just too selfless.

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><p>Port Angeles was only a two hour drive outside of Forks, but thanks to the rain it took us two and a half hours. It was really annoying. Stupid rain, it was really starting to get to me. But I guess that was because I was such a California girl.<p>

Jacob seemed to know the little city pretty well, and we soon found a small frame and photo store where he bought me two new frames; a blue one for mine and Michael's prom picture, and then another orange one, which was on sale.

We then headed over to the mall, where we found a Payless that was also having a sale. I had to really try to rain myself in; I only wanted Jacob to replace the one pair he ruined, but I was a shoe whore, especially when it came to boots. I was short, so I liked wearing boots with heels, which I found many of, since it was close to winter.

"Urg, this is so hard!" I whined, looking between two pairs I had in my hands.

Jacob chuckled, shaking his head. "What is it with girls and shoes?"

"What is it with guys and cars?" I snapped back, not looking away from my choices.

"Hey, cars are awesome. They serve a purpose and help stimulate the economy." He defended.

I wasn't so sure about that, but I wasn't about to let him rag on my love of shoes. "Well so do shoes. We walk in them. And can you imagine what would happen to the world economy if women stopped buying shoes? We stop buying them, then they stop making them, and everyone will go barefoot, causing people to cut up their feet on stuff and then they'll get gangrene and stuff and people's feet will fall off!" I exclaimed, looking at him wide eyed.

He frowned, leaning down so he was right in my face, looking into my eyes intensely. His breath was hot on my lips, and I felt my heart start acting up.

"W-what are you doing?" I asked, leaning away in embarrassment.

"Just checking your eyes." He leaned back, giving me a cocky grin. "Just making sure you weren't stoned."

"Hey, drugs are your thing, not mine, let's not forget."

After buying my (two, one of which Jacob paid for) boots, we dropped them off in the Rabbit, going to mess around elsewhere. I had only been to Port Angeles a few times during my summers in La Push, and it was a cute, sort of quant little city. It reminded me of those pictures of New England you would see on post cards. We walked along the boardwalk by the bay for a while, just chatting about this and that, until I started to notice something.

There were girls here, and they were staring at Jacob. Back in La Push I had never noticed, because the only girls I hung around were Emily, Kim and Leah, and they never stared at Jacob the way these girls were. Some of them looked like they were about to rush him from a street corner.

I glanced at Jacob. He didn't seem to notice them, his attention on me as he talked. I took a moment to apprise him. Jacob was good looking, I had always known this, but this time I _really_ _looked_ at him. He had a strong and defined jawline, smooth cheek bones and full lips. His skin was perfectly clear and a deep russet color, darker than mine. It seemed to glow in the sun. His hair had grown out a little, hanging kind of shaggy in the front, but short in the back. And his smile, his smile sometime made my heart stutter. Combined with his eyes, which crinkled when he let out that smile, Jacob Black was a brilliant package.

No wonder the girls around here were drooling at him! How come I had never noticed this, with all the time I spent with him? I felt outraged at myself.

"Gwen? You okay?" Jacob asked, looking at me in concern. "You've got this sort of constipated look on your face." He grinned teasingly. "Do we need to find you a bathroom?"

I smacked his arm, instantly regretting it when my fingers felt like I had smacked a wall.

"Ah!" I gasped, shaking out my fingers. "What's your arm made of, concrete?"

He chuckled, taking my hand in his and massaging the pain away. His hands were so much bigger than mine, twice as big. And warm. If I ever had a muscle cramp I'd bet Jacob could loosen it up just by putting his hand over it for a minute.

"You okay?" he asked gently.

I looked up at him, only to have my heart skip and my stomach twist. He was looking at me with such intense and gentle eyes. It always amazed me how gentle Jacob always was with me, for being such a big guy. We stared at each other in silence, him holding my hand, and it felt like the atmosphere was charged, intense. He started to lean forward, but I quickly pulled away.

"I'm starting to feel a little hungry. How about we go grab something before heading back?" I asked, looking away from him uncomfortably.

He sighed, sounding disappointed. "Sure, sure. Whatever you want, Gwen."

* * *

><p>We ate at a little Italian place that was good, and would have been better if the waitress hadn't been making cow eyes at Jacob every time she came over. But like the other girls on the boardwalk, he didn't seem to notice. I was grateful for that.<p>

"Will you tell me about Michael?" he asked suddenly.

I looked up at him from across the booth, and I wondered what he was thinking. We had sort of agreed in silence not to talk about the two people we had loved and lost. But, somehow, I didn't feel upset. I found that I wanted to tell him about Michael. I nodded.

"Only if you tell me about Bella." I said, and to my surprise, he nodded, expression calm.

"Well," I looked down at the table, gathering my thoughts. "Michael was…kind of a bully."

Jacob blinked. "A bully?"

I nodded again. "Yeah. Actually, a couple of my friends were like that. They thought it was funny to tease and make fun of people."

Jacob frowned, his thick eye brows furrowing over his eyes. "Why would you be friends with people like that?"

I sighed, putting one elbow on the table. "I don't know. Probably because I knew most of them since I was a kid. We had all gone through elementary, middle school and high school together. In my defense, they were really cool, when they weren't being jerks. It was a phase, I guess."

Jacob nodded, not saying anything. I continued. "Michael wasn't really that bad. He mostly played pranks; he didn't beat people up anything. Except this one kid. His name was Dennis Philipps. He was this really dorky, clumsy kid who everyone picked on. He wore these really thick black glasses with tape holding them together all the time, like Erkel. Michael tormented him all the time. I sat next to him in my Gov. and Econ class. I talked to him every once in a while, he really was a sweet kid. I tried to get Michael to lay off him a lot."

"Anyway, despite that, Michael was a really good person. He was like my best friend, always listening to me and calling to make sure I made it home alright. He once brought me soup when I was sick." I smiled.

"He still bullied people." Jacob huffed, crossing his arms.

I laughed, seeming to surprise him. "Yeah, he did. I followed him around a lot, making sure he didn't go overboard. Especially whenever he got a hold of Dennis. That kid was everybody's punching bag. I really felt bad for him."

"How come you never stopped him?" Jacob asked.

His voice was disappointed, and he was looking at me like he was really upset, like he was sad and accusing me. I frowned.

"Don't you think I tried? I couldn't be with him 24/7. The most I could do was follow him around school and make sure he didn't really, physically hurt anyone. He mostly played pranks, anyway. I didn't like what he did, but I guess it was that whole 'good girl attracted to the bad boy' thing."

"Because that makes it so much better, Gwen." He glared at me.

I glared back at me. "Well why don't you tell me about Bella, if Michael was so bad." I sneered.

He flinched back, grimacing. I felt a little bad about that, but I wasn't going to let him judge Michael so harshly, especially since he wasn't here to defend himself. He hadn't known him. "Well?"

Jacob sighed. "I knew Bella when I was a kid. You might have known her too." He said, looking up at me.

I racked my brain, thinking. An image came to mind of a shy girl with brown eyes and hair. That girl in the picture! "No, I don't remember her, but I do have a picture of her at home."

"Yeah, well, she came down to live with her dad a couple of years ago and met…" He paused, almost seeming like he was choking. He was shaking slightly, and when he finally spoke, it was through his teeth, "…Cullen." He sneered.

I was taken aback. I had never seen him like this before. He seemed really angry. "They were together for a while, until he left her. She got really depressed and came to me. I put her back together."

I nodded. "And you fell in love with her." I said quietly.

Jacob breathed out slowly, running a hand through his hair, trying to calm down. "Yeah. I thought I really had a shot. She knew I loved her, and she loved me too. Until he came back and she ran right back to him."

I looked at him in shock. "She just…_went back_ to him? After he _left_ her?"

"Yeah." Jacob said. He was calm now, seemingly fine.

"How could she do that?" I asked. "And she knew you loved her?"

He nodded, watching me. I felt…pissed. _Really_ pissed. Maybe it was just my personality and pride, but if a guy just left me, I would defiantly not go running back to him. Especially if I had someone as amazing as Jacob who loved me.

"What a-" I started to say in outrage, but then I remembered that this girl was dead, and I shouldn't talk about the dead like that. I was still pissed at her though.

"Never mind. That wasn't cool." I grumbled.

Jacob smiled at me humorously. He obviously knew me well enough by now to know what I really thought about Bella. But he didn't say anything.

We left the restaurant soon after. Jacob had nearly eaten them out of food, and I was surprised he had enough money to pay the bill.

It was dark out now, windy and cold, so Jacob wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close, causing warmth to spread through my body. I smiled.

"Do you still want to hang out when we get back?" Jacob asked. "We could watch a movie." He suggested.

I looked up at him. "Nothing scary. Or anything to do with the supernatural."

He laughed. My fear of supernatural and scary movies always seemed to amuse him. "Sure, sure. Whatever you-" he suddenly cut off, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk and going very still.

"Jacob? What's wrong?" I asked, frowning.

The look on his face was alarming. His eyes darted around, and his nostrils were flaring, taking deep breaths through his nose. It looked like he was sniffing the air. I could feel his arm shaking on my shoulders, and when he pulled me closer against his body, it almost felt like he was vibrating.

It made me tense. "Jacob?"

"Let's go, Gwen. We have to go." He said tensely.

He started to walk quickly, holding me against his side so I could barely walk or keep up with him. It was annoying, and I was about to say something, when he literally scooped me up and started to hurry down the street, ignoring looks we got from people walking by.

"Jacob! What the hell are you doing? Put me down!" I demanded.

"No." He said, wrapping his arms so tight around me I could barely move. He was sort of hunched over me, clutching me to his chest, his eyes darting around tense and angry. He was still shaking.

We were at the Rabbit then, and I had hardly blinked before he had me strapped in and was pulling out of the parking space. I looked over at him in shock.

"What the hell was all that about?" I asked, surprised at how soft my voice had gone. My heart was pounding.

He shook his head quickly, clutching at the steering wheel with white knuckles. "Nothing. Never mind. I just thought I saw some rough looking guys."

He was lying to me. Jacob was big enough to take on anyone, and he and I both knew it. I had once seen him wrestle with Quil and Embry, and he had easily sat on both of them, winning forty bucks from Paul and Jared. I knew he was lying, but I couldn't bring myself to call him out on it. I had a feeling I didn't want to know. The way he had been acting was close to how I had been acting right before the incident went down. It was like he knew we were being followed.

I shuttered, wrapping my arms around myself and pulled my knees up onto the seat, trying to think happy thoughts.

**Back in Port Angeles**

The blond woman walked down the street, her five inch heels clicking quickly on the sidewalk, her beauty drawing people's wide eyes in attention. But she ignored them; she wasn't thirsty right now anyway.

She turned into the park, instantly spotting her two companions, sitting motionlessly on a bench. The younger of the two, a teenage boy with sloppy black hair jumped up when he saw her.

"So was it her? Was it?" he asked eagerly, his red eyes pleading.

The woman nodded. "It was her. The man she was with called her 'Gwen'."

The boy's eyes lit up and a wide smile stretched across his face. The other two hadn't seen him this happy in nearly a year. "Let's go get her then!"

"Wait." The woman said, holding up one hand. The boy went stone still, the other one looking relaxed. "The man she was with knew I was there."

The two frowned. "What do you mean he knew?" The one who hadn't yet spoke, a calm blond male, asked in a low voice.

The woman glared at him. "He knew." She growled. "It was like he smelled me."

The boy didn't seem worried. "That's no big deal." He shrugged. "Let's just send Max in." he said, looking at the blond male.

The woman narrowed her red eyes. "No. Something was strange about that man. His scent was revolting. I've never smelt anything like it." She paused, thinking. Then she looked at the boy. "The information you got from her friend said she was living on the Quileute reservation?"

The boy nodded quickly. "That's what she said."

The woman nodded, and then looked at the blond male called Max. "We'll have to do a bit of digging before we move."

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><p><strong>The plot is coming…<strong>

**The next chapter is sort of short, but I hope it will have you on the edge of your seats. Gwen meets a very unfriendly dog, and will have to take a trip to the hospital…**

**Please review!**


	8. Panic

**I enjoyed reading all the reviews for the last chapter. Some of you think Michael is the vamp, but I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise by saying yes or no :) This chapters a little shorter compared to the rest, but I hope the next one will make up for it.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Gwen belongs to me, if you don't already know.**

**Oh, and I DO NOT support cruelty to animals! It's wrong and disgusting! (You'll see what I mean, although it's nothing really graphic and it's a pretty small part) **

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><p>"<em>I used to lie in my bed and imagine what would happen if there was a zombie attack"-<em>Simon Pegg

"_Any idiot can face a crisis-it's this day to day living that wears you out"-_Anton Chekhov

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><p>My parents had divorced when I was only a year old. I'm not sure why. Mom was never really clear on the reason; she just said that they realized that they weren't compatible. But after that, mom took me and moved us to a small suburb of Los Angeles, where she started working as a nurse in the various hospitals there. She worked a lot, and I spent most of my time with babysitters, or my grandparents, her parents.<p>

I guess I got used to being by myself. I never felt lonely, and I didn't feel bad about having to take care of myself. By the time I was nine years old, I was already cooking myself full meals on the stove. It's not like I was neglected or anything, it's just that when I was with my grandparents or babysitters, there never seemed to be any kids my age around to play with. And my grandparents and babysitters weren't so over protective to me like my mom was, so they often let me help them cook.

That's why every friend I made was very dear to me. I always had a sense of loyalty toward them. I always stood up for them, no matter what they did, and I never left them hanging.

This was why I was so upset when I didn't see Jacob or any of the La Push pack after that night in Port Angeles, for nearly a week. Not even a whisper of them were around. I called Billy, but he just told me that they were busy with work. What work? All they did was patrol around La Push.

Was patrol such busy work, Jacob couldn't even be bothered to call me, just once? Thinking like this made me feel pathetic and clingy, and then ashamed of myself. I didn't need to hold anyone's hand to get on with myself. If he couldn't pick up a phone for a minute to just say 'Hey, yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to blow you off but it's been really busy lately', then screw him.

I walked to The Pail thinking all this, feeling slightly betrayed at Jacob and upset at myself. I didn't have many close friends, but I had considered Jacob and the rest as like, maybe best friends. When had Jacob started to grow so close to my heart? He was starting to get even closer than Michael had been, and the fact that I hadn't heard from him in a week started to really worry me.

I walked into The Pail, seeing my dad behind the counter with a boy I had never seen before. He had a cute face; blue eyes and sandy blonde hair, and surprisingly, a light tan. He sort of looked like a runner, tall, with a lanky build and defined features. I could see him on a track team back in California, one of those boys who would run down the street, training with his team mates. He defiantly was no Jacob, who sometimes had that 'bad boy' look to him. When he wasn't being his usual goofy self, I mean.

I sat down at the counter on one of the stools in front of them as they talked. "Hey, Dad."

They both turned to me, and smiled. The boy had dimples. "Hi, hun. Here for some lunch?"

I nodded, looking over at the boy, who was still looking at me. "Who's this?" I asked.

Dad smiled, patting the boy on the shoulder. "This is Cody. I just hired him a few days ago. Cody, this is my daughter Gwen."

"Hi." I smiled at him, offering him my hand.

He smiled back, seeming friendly. He kind of reminded me of Seth. He took my hand, shaking it. "Hey, nice to meet you."

Dad smiled wider. "Why don't you help her? She'll be your first customer." He patted his back again. "I have to go take care of something in my office, and then I'll come eat with you, alright, hun?"

I nodded. "Sure."

Dad nodded and walked off. Cody and I both watched until he shut the door to his small office, then turned back to each other.

Cody grinned, pulling out a pad of paper. "What can I get you, miss?" he asked this mock seriousness.

"Hm." I tapped my lips, feigning I didn't know what was on the menu. "What do you suggest, sir?"

"Well, we had a very delicious lemon pie that I'm sure a girl like you would just love." He grinned. "Or we could have dinner in Port Angeles later tonight."

I shook my head, grinning. "That's a bit far to go for just dinner. And I'm kind of hungry now. I think I'll just have the chicken plate instead if you don't mind." I said, easily side stepping his less the subtle invitation for a date.

Cody kept smiling. "Are you sure? I know a really good little Italian place there."

I nodded. "I know that place. It gave me food poisoning. Just the chicken plate please."

Cody huffed, but before he could respond my dad came out of his office, causing him to shut his mouth. Dad sat next to me, looking at him.

"I'll have the burger if you'd please, Cody." He said pleasantly.

Cody nodded and scurried off in silence. I watched him go in amusement. What a doorknob.

"So what's going on, hun? How are you? You're not feeling lonely are you?" Dad asked, eyeing me.

I looked at him, frowning. "No. Why would I be?"

Dad shrugged. "The pack boys haven't been around much this week. You've been spending all that time in the house."

"Do you want me to help you here?" I asked. "I mean, if you're hiring people, I'd be more than happy to help out some."

"You can if you'd like." He replied. "I was just concerned. You know I don't like you spending all your time with those boys."

"No, you don't like me spending all my time with Jacob. What's your beef with him anyway?" I asked. "I asked him and he told me he didn't know."

To my surprise, Dad actually snorted in disbelief. It was a sound I had never heard come out of him. "He has an unhealthy interest in you."

This time I snorted in disbelief. "Jacob? Please. He's been a perfect gentleman whenever we've hung out." Except last week in Port Angeles when he had literally swept me off my feet.

Dad turned to look at me seriously. His eyes were intense. "Just be careful around that boy, Gwen. Be careful around all of them."

His concern about the boys confused me. Yeah they were all buff, and I sometimes still suspected Jacob was on drugs, but none of them would ever hurt anyone. I didn't think they had it in them. Well, maybe Paul. Sometimes he got so angry he started to shake and had to be dragged outside by the others. Leah could be a bitch sometimes, but other than those two, the pack was cool.

"C'mon, Dad." I said, turning back to the counter. "They're a gang, but they're not the Bloods and the Crypts."

Dad sighed. "Just please, Gwen. Promise you'll be careful dealing with them."

I looked at him. He honestly did look worried. I smiled, deciding to give him some peace of mind. "Okay, Dad. I promise."

He nodded, seeming satisfied. "Do you know where they've been this past week?"

I shook my head. "No. Billy just said they were all out patrolling. Apparently Sam upped their hours."

"Hm." Dad frowned, but didn't say anything.

Cody came back with our food then. He smiled at me. "Here you go. Enjoy."

I smiled back. "Thanks."

We ate in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying our time together. Dad and I never really sat down and had a meal together like this.

"By the way," he spoke up, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Watch out for Mr. Orenda's dog. He got out the other day again."

"You mean that really mean rottweiler that looks like he's got mange?" I asked. "That thing's still living?"

"Yeah." Dad said, taking a bite out of his burger. "The council's been on Orenda to get rid of that damn dog for years. It's always getting lose and going after people. But the old man's stubborn, says he's good protection."

"I didn't see it on the way here, but I'll watch for it." I said, not feeling concerned. La Push was huge and Mr. Orenda lived way on the other side of the reservation. What were the chances I'd run into it?

* * *

><p>"Aw, crap."<p>

I was about halfway home when I saw the stupid thing. He was chewing on what looked like a poor raccoon that had been turned into road kill. Or it might have been an opossum. I couldn't really tell, all I knew was that it was dead and disgusting. It was worse than that time I had seen that fried squirrel caught between some electric power lines at school. It had shut down power to the whole place.

I tried just walking past him, hoping he would just continue chewing on his road kill, but I was carrying the left overs from my chicken dinner. Apparently that smelled much better than rotting opossum, because he looked up at me as I passed, his lips pulling up over his teeth. I froze.

"Oh, shit." I gasped, as he started to slowly approach, growling.

My first instinct was to run, but I remembered I had heard somewhere that you should never run from a dangerous animal, because then they would just chase you. But then what were you suppose to do to get away?

Instead, I slowly opened up my doggy bag, pulling out the half eaten chicken. The dog growled, head low like it was about to pounce. I quickly tossed the chicken at it, and it sniffed it, but that was all. It continued to approach.

I backed away slowly, adrenaline pumping, hands up. "Good dog, good dog. You don't want to eat me." I cooed, trying to sooth it.

It didn't work. It lunged at me, catching me with its teeth on my right hand with such force for such a skinny dog it actually dragged me down. I hit the ground hard, feeling all the air rush out of my lungs. But it quickly came back as the dog swerved around, latching onto my arm.

I screamed loudly, trying to kick and pull my arm out of the dog's hot mouth. It just clamped down harder and shook its head, causing me to scream again in pain.

"Hey!"

I didn't see what happened, but the dog suddenly let out a pained yelp and went flying, it's teeth wrenched out of my arm. I looked up from the ground, cradling my injured and bloody arm to my chest. It was Embry and Paul. Embry was standing over me, Paul in the background, looking like he was wrestling the stupid rottweiler.

"You okay, Gwen?" Embry looked down at my arm and he gasped in horror. "Never mind."

It looked like the dog had made a chew toy out of me. I could see puncher marks from where his teeth had broken my skin, halfway up my forearm. My pinky and ring fingers were bloody too, from where he had caught me the first time and dragged me down. I closed my eyes tightly, looking away and trying not to be sick.

Embry quickly scooped me up in his arms, and if I had my voice I would have told him to put me down. As it was I could barely make little whimpering noises. I had felt this before; it was shock. Embry looked over at Paul.

"Hey, I'm gonna take her to the hospital. You take care of that thing and tell Jake what happened." He called to him.

Paul waved. "Yeah, sure." I watched as he stomped one foot on the dogs chest, causing said animal to whimper and squirm under his weight.

If it hadn't attacked me I would have told Paul to knock it off. But as it was I didn't care if they decided to make it into glue now. Embry jogged over to an idling Jeep that was in the middle of the road. It looked like they had been driving back toward the main part of the reservation when they spotted me being mauled.

Embry deposited me gently in the front seat and quickly got behind the wheel. He reached over into the back seat and pulled up a ratty looking t-shirt.

"Here." He said, taking my bloody arm gently in his huge hand. "Wrap your arm in this. Try to put some pressure on it to stop the bleeding."

"I don't think this is going to stop." I said shakily.

"Yeah." Embry quickly pulled the car back around. "I'm taking you to the hospital."

We flew down the main highway to Forks, me trying to stem the flow of blood gushing from my arm. I could barely feel the pain, which I guess was alright, but my whole arm was numb, so I guess that wasn't much better.

I tried not to look at the blood. I never used to be queasy. I even use to watch at the doctor's office whenever they would take my blood. But since a year ago I couldn't look at it anymore. Especially not my own.

Instead I talked to Embry. "So where have you guys been?" I asked breathlessly.

Embry sort of grimaced. "Working. Billy didn't tell you?"

"Yeah, he did. But I haven't seen you guys in a week." I hadn't seen Jacob in a week.

"Well," He seemed thoughtful, kind of nervous. "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but we sort of widened our patrolling area."

"How wide?" I asked, putting more pressure on my now acing arm.

"Port Angeles." He said.

I looked at him, instantly regretting it because moving my head made me dizzy. "Why up till there? That's miles away!"

Embry shook his head. "I shouldn't even be telling you this. Jake's probably gonna kill me." He grimaced, looking guilty and a little scared.

Before I could question him some more, we had pulled into the hospital parking lot. Seconds later Embry had me in his arms again and was carrying me into the emergency room.

When they saw the blood soaking through the t-shirt they admitted me immediately. Embry carried me into a large room full of a few other people, some looking perfectly fine. He sat me on a paper covered bed, and out of the corner of my eye I saw a white figure approach. I turned to look at him, my eyes widening to the size of hub caps and I swear my heart stopped in terror.

He was dazzlingly beautiful, with bone white skin and honey blond hair that was slicked back. I noticed that in the bright light over my bed, his skin had a slight glitter to it. I could see colors shining on it. His eyes were bright gold, and he smiled at me friendlily.

"Hello Miss. Willows." He said calmly, pleasantly, his voice like music. "I'm Dr. Cullen. Would you mind letting me have a look at your arm?" he asked, reaching for my blood covered appendage.

I screamed bloody murder.

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><p><strong>I'm a horrible person, leaving you with a cliffy like this, I know. But the next chapter will be a bit longer. We find out a little about what happened in LA (although I'm sure most of you have it figured out), and Jacob and Gwen's dad have a talk, which will be from Jacob's POV!<strong>

**Reviews make me happy!**


	9. Vampires

**Do any of you have pets who like to follow you around the house? I have two cats and I know I said animal cruelty is mean and disgusting but this morning I had to really stop myself from kicking one of them. He chewed up the cord to my earphones! Oh, I was so pissed, you don't even know! And they were expensive Skull Candy earphones! They cost me like, thirty bucks! If you live somewhere in So Cal and you heard horrible cussing this morning, yeah, that was me. Damn cat…**

**Anyway, that aside, I hope you enjoy this one!**

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Gwen belongs to me, though she might disagree.**

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><p>"<em>For every effect there is a root cause. Find and address the root cause rather than try to fix the effect, as there is no end to the latter"-<em>unknown

"_Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposer. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing"-_Helen Keller

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><p>They had to sedate me and tie me down to the bed so they could stich up my arm. If I hadn't been so terrified that there was a vampire in the hospital, I would have been embarrassed at the way I was blubbering. But I just wanted to get away.<p>

Thankfully, the thing calling himself had left when I had started freaking out, but not before throwing me a look that was hard to describe; it was like he knew that I knew what he was. It horrified me.

Embry had panicked, trying to hold me down and comfort me without hurting me, but he really looked like he had no idea what to do. They wanted to call my dad and keep me for over-night observation, but I was eighteen and they couldn't keep me if I didn't want to stay. Embry had driven me home, shooting me cautious, edgy looks the whole time. It took everything I had in me to keep from screaming.

As soon as Embry pulled up to my house he started to speak, but I shot out of the car and ran into the house, slamming the door and locking it. I then ran into my room and into my closet, wrapping myself in a blanket and sobbed.

I hadn't thought there would be more of them. I hadn't thought I'd ever see one again. Maybe I had just been deluding myself. Maybe there were just as many of them as there were humans, they were just good at hiding. Or killing the people who knew about them.

That thought made me even more terrified. But no. There had been something different about him. His eyes were gold, not that dull red the other ones had. Maybe he was just a really handsome man that needed some sun and liked to wear contacts. And he had been dressed like a doctor. The other people who worked in the hospital, the other doctors and nurses, didn't seem like they didn't know him. But his skin had defiantly had a sparkle to it. It had! I know I saw it!

I cradled my head in my hands, curling into a fetal position in the darkness of my closet. Maybe Rick really was right. Maybe I really was psychotic.

I heard loud knocking on the front door and I tensed, going very still. The knocking continued, along with a voice yelling for me, but I couldn't really make it out. Finally it stopped, but I didn't relax. Was it that vampire? Had he come for me?

There was a creak that came from the kitchen and I gasped. The backdoor! I hadn't checked to see if it had been locked. I sat very still, barely breathing as I heard heavy footsteps coming toward my room. I heard the doorknob turn, but I had locked it.

"Gwen?" It was Jacob. He sounded really worried, his voice cracked. "Gwen, honey, it's me. Open the door."

I didn't move, nor did I answer. I stayed tense and alert in the safety of my closet.

"Gwen please open the door. Embry and Paul told me what happened. I need to make sure you're alright." His voice pleaded, sounding broken.

I still didn't move.

Finally, there was a slamming sound, and I jumped, burying my face in my blanket, trying not to breathe. I heard Jacob's footsteps coming toward my closet, and when he swung the door opened I screamed in terror. I saw Jacob, and I recognized Jacob, but I couldn't seem to stop screaming. Jacob's face was horrified.

"Gwen!" he exclaimed in a panic, reaching for me, catching me when I flung myself at him.

"Jacob! Oh my god, Jacob! A vampire! There was a vampire at the hospital!" I screamed, clutching at him with my good arm. The other one had gone numb again when I hadn't noticed.

Jacob's face was panicky and horrified and helpless looking, but he scooped me up into his arms quickly and gently, sitting us on my bed. He cradled me close to his chest, firmly but gently, while I continued to panic.

"I know, honey, I know. Please calm down, please." He pleaded, stroking my face and rocking us.

"There's a vampire in Forks, Jacob! In the hospital!" I yelled, sobbing and hyperventilating against his chest.

He looked down at me, his face tortured. "I know Gwen. It'll be alright. Everything's alright." He said gently.

I tried to pry myself out of his arms, but he was too strong. He wouldn't let me go. "No it's not!" I screamed "There's a vampire in the hospital! He wanted to look at my arm! He almost touched me!"

"I know, I know. Shhh, Gwen. You need to calm down sweetheart. Please calm down." He begged, stroking my face lightly, eyes looking like he was in pain.

This continued on for a few minutes, me crying and freaking out, and Jacob just holding me tightly, murmuring gentle and comforting words. Finally I couldn't cry anymore, but I continued to hyperventilate, Jacob stroking my face, my back, my injured arm. He watched me cautiously.

"Are you alright now, Gwen honey?" He asked carefully.

I shook my head, looking up at him. "No, I'm not alright."

We sat in silence for another minute, my mind going a mile a minute, and Jacob watching my face, waiting. Finally, I looked at him.

"Do you think I'm insane, Jacob?" I asked, my voice thick.

He shook his head. "Of course not. You're probably the sanest person I know, reacting the way you did."

"You said you knew." I whispered, looking up at him. "You said you knew about a vampire being in the hospital. You know about vampires." I pointed out in disbelief.

He shifted so we were lying across my bed, him against my pillows and me across his chest. He was careful to maneuver my arm so he wouldn't jar it. He looked at me seriously, a touch of sadness in his eyes.

"So do you apparently." He said, rubbing my back soothingly.

I stared at him in shock. How could he be so calm? He knew about vampires, and he wasn't freaking out. "How?" I whispered.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "I sort of…hunt them."

My mouth fell open. "You…hunt…vampires?" I asked.

He nodded, looking at me, his expression weary and maybe a little scared now. "Yeah. Me and the other guys. We all do. It's our job to protect the reservation from them."

"But…but…" There were no words to accurately describe what I was feeling at that moment.

Shock, betrayal and terror were the main ones. Jacob and the rest of the pack hunted vampires. They _hunted vampires._ How was that possible?

"How do you…" I started, but he cut me off by shaking his head.

"No, I can't tell you. I can't tell you, not now that I've seen how you reacted to the doc. You might have a heart attack." He said with a tortured expression.

"The doc? You know that thing?" I asked in disbelief, and to my surprise his mouth twitched a little.

"Yeah." He said, watching me. He cupped my face in his hands and leaned forward, looking into my eyes. "I don't know if I should tell you this, but I'm going to. Please, please try to stay calm." He begged.

I took a shaky breath, nodding. He nodded back, but watched me carefully.

"There are nine of them in all. They live in Forks, and the one you met is like the leader. His name is Carlisle, and he's a doctor at the hospital there." He said speaking slowly.

I stared at him in horror, my heart pounding. Nine of them? _Nine!_ And they lived in Forks! And their leader was a _doctor_?

I started to hyperventilate again, and a flash of panic went through Jacob's eyes. He started to stroke my face.

"No Gwen, no. Please. They're not bad. They can't come on to the reservation, they won't hurt you. I won't let them." He said in a rush.

"What…do…you…mean?" I asked breathlessly.

Jacob pushed on quickly, afraid I would start panicking again. "The Cullen's came here a long time ago. They made a treaty with us. They can't hunt on our land; if they cross the border into the reservation we'll kill them. They have to stay in Forks." He explained.

"So they just feed on people in Forks!" I exclaimed, my voice going high.

"No, no, no, no. The Cullen's don't feed on humans. They only drink animal blood. You saw how Carlisle had gold eyes? It's because he doesn't drink human blood. Any vamp that does has red eyes." He said, shaking his head and his voice shaky.

"Yeah. I've seen the ones with red eyes." I breathed, hand over my chest, my breathing rough.

"You've seen…that's why you were so freaked out." Jacob said, looking down at me, realization on his face.

His expression was panicked again. He was looking at me in horror. "What happened, Gwen? How do you know about vampires?"

I took a deep breath. "I…me and some of my friends…we…" I winced, "We…met…some."

"You met vampires?" Jacob's voice was horrified, and I felt his arms tighten around me. "When? Where?"

"Back home." I whispered. "The day after graduation."

It was so hard to prosess this. I couldn't think. There were a group of vampires living just down the road in Forks. But they were okay, because they didn't drink human blood. They couldn't come onto the reservation, because if they did, Jacob and his friends, who hunt vampires, would kill them. And the leader worked at the hospital in Forks. It was all so insane.

"You trust them? The…you were calling them the Cullen's." I said. "You know them?"

Jacob nodded, seeming to relax. He seemed to be satisfied that I wouldn't start crying again.

"I guess we're kind of like…friends. We made a truce, and sometimes some of the pack goes to visit them. Usually just me and Seth though." He said, actually seeming sheepish.

Then he frowned. "Tell me about your vampires. What happened to make you so scared of them? Not that you shouldn't be, I just want to know what happened."

I looked down at his chest, my heart still pounding and my head still whirling from this insaneness. Vampires _were_ real; I hadn't been crazy like everyone had told me. But it was still hard to comprehend. The vampires here were like…vegetarians. They didn't hurt people.

That still didn't change how I felt about them.

"Gwen?" Jacob's voice was cautious again. I looked up at him. "Will you tell me what happened?" he asked carefully.

I shook my head. "You said you fight vampires. Has any of your friends been killed by one?" I asked lowly.

Jacob scoffed. "No way. We're strong, Gwen. No stupid leech could take us down."

"Then don't ask me what happened to mine." I said, curling against his chest.

He didn't responded, the silence hanging heavy in the air around us. He tucked me more safely against him. "What ever happened, you don't have to worry about the Cullen's. They won't hurt you. And even if there are others around,"- here his voice changed to a growl and his arms tightened their hold on me,-"I would never let them hurt you, Gwen." He nuzzled his nose into my hair. "You're my everything. I would do anything to protect you."

I believed him. I really believed that Jacob would protect me. I didn't like how he sometimes seemed to baby me and would be so over-protective that I wanted to scream; but he took care of me, even better than Michael, or even my own mother sometimes. It was like he was devoted to me. I looked up at him.

"Why do you care about me so much, Jacob?" I asked lowly.

A look passed over his face so quickly I wasn't even sure I saw it. It looked like he might have been holding himself back, like he wanted to say or do something. But it disappeared just as fast as it came. Instead he smiled warmly, his eyes gentle. He leaned forward so his forehead rested on mine, looking intensely into my eyes. He held my face in his hands. They were so warm. Everything about Jacob was warm.

"Because you're mine, Gwen. The way Kim is Jared's and Emily is Sam's. You're mine."

* * *

><p><strong>Jacob's POV<strong>

When Embry and Paul had called me to tell me what happened, I felt like my world had stopped spinning for a minute. Gwen had been mauled by 's dog, and I hadn't been there to stop it. I had always hated that dog; everyone hated it. It was always getting out and going after people. Mr. Orenda was a stubborn, half-dead old man who wouldn't listen to Billy and the other elders about getting rid of it, but he sure as hell better listen to me now. If he didn't, I was still going to tear that dog apart; screw anyone who thought it was cruel. They didn't have an imprint to protect.

This was killing me. Her being hurt and finding out about the Cullen's like this; it wasn't how I wanted her to find out. But she had already known about them. Something had happened to her back in LA, that much was obvious. That look she sometimes got…And that killed me again, because whatever had happened, she had horrible memories about it, and I couldn't take them away. She was my imprint, I was supposed to support and take care of her, no matter what.

I had been planning to tell her everything soon. I wanted to tell her as soon as we got back from patrolling around Port Angeles. Ever since I had noticed the one following Gwen and I that night, Sam and I agreed to widen the range of patrols. It made me angry to know that one had been following us there, when we had been having a good time together. It made me angry to know one was so close to home that it might go after her. It made me angry to know I was losing spending time with her, because it had decided to come so close.

I couldn't tell her now. She was obviously terrified of vampires, what would her reaction be to me? That her friend Jacob could turn into a giant wolf? That she had been spending so much time with a whole pack of werewolves? If she didn't accept me…I couldn't even imagine what would happen. Could a wolf die if his imprint rejected him? It had never happened before, but if it did happen with Gwen, I wouldn't be able to handle it. It would be so much worse than all those times Bella rejected me. So much worse.

I stayed with her until she fell asleep, running my fingers through her hair and over her face. She had a cute face; like one of those faces that belonged on a cupie doll. Most people might say she was more cute than pretty, but to me, Gwen was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.

She didn't really ask a lot of questions about things, she just accepted them. She was stubborn, had a horrible temper and had a sharp tongue. She gave you her opinion, even if you didn't want it. I had heard her say harsh things without a moment's hesitation. But she was soft and kind and giving. She tried to understand things, and she could admit that she was wrong, even if she didn't want to. She laughed a lot and smiled a lot more than she used to. She made jokes, and took on the guy's dares to do reckless things, much to my horror. She liked to have fun.

When I had first imprinted on her, I realized imprinting wasn't really love at first sight. I had miss judged it from the others memories. It was more than just love. It was an intense feeling of wanting to protect and love and care for. It was so hard to explain. Was there a stronger word than love to describe this? I didn't think so. I couldn't believe there had been a time when I didn't want this. Every part of me rejected not wanting Gwen. I didn't see anyone else's face anymore. Now I understood what Quil had told me about not noticing other girls once he had imprinted.

I heard her dad's Buick pull into the drive way. It made a screeching sound that made me wince and I thought about offering to change his breaks for him. I heard him get out of the car, slamming the door and running into the house. I had told Embry to wait an hour after I got to Gwen's to tell Jack what happened. I didn't want him to interrupt whatever kind of talk we ended up having. Embry's memories of Gwen's terrified face let me knew I would have to tell her about the vamps.

"Gwen!"

Jack's voice called in the living room, and Gwen mumbled something, shifting slightly against me. I smiled, covering her ears. I didn't want her to wake up.

"Gwen!" Her door swung open (it had already been open from when I had broken the lock. Opps.) and Jack stood in the doorway, looking down at us in shock.

I didn't really feel bad about getting caught with Gwen sleeping on my chest like this. She was calm again, and seemed comfortable, and that's all that mattered. But Jack didn't seem to think so.

His usually serine face turned a rusty sort of red, and his eyes narrowed. "What do you think you're doing with my daughter, Jacob?" he asked through his teeth.

"Nothing." I said honestly. "We didn't do anything. We talked and she fell asleep."

"You've got a lot of nerve boy." He said lowly. "Come into the living room. I want to talk to you. Now." It wasn't a request.

I sighed. I really, really, didn't want to have the talk I knew was coming. I sat up very carefully, supporting Gwen in my arms and shifting her so she laid on the bed. She moaned a little and I smiled, brushing some hair from her face. I carefully pulled the covers around her and kissed her temple.

"I'll be back." I whispered.

I walked into the living room to see Jack sitting on the sofa, elbows on his knees and looking more serious then I had ever seen him. He looked at me.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" he asked, frowning.

"Nothing." I said, coming to sit next to him on the couch.

My answer seemed like it made him angry. He looked like he was choking. "Nothing? You imprinted on my daughter, Jacob."

I sighed, trying not to feel irritated. "You know it's not something we can control, Jack. I'm not going to apologize for something I couldn't control."

"Sam told me that." He said, leaning back and crossing his arms.

Jack had known about the wolves almost from the beginning. He wasn't one of the elders, like Billy was, but his grandfather had been one of the protectors, and he had known the signs. He was a smart man, and tended to notice things most people didn't. When he saw Sam after the first time he phased, Jack instantly knew what he had become. Since then, he had been watching all of us. This is why I was a little confused as to why he was upset I had imprinted on his daughter.

"Billy thinks we imprint to breed stronger wolves. That we imprint on our strongest genetic match. If Gwen was anything but half Quileute, I might not have imprinted on her." I said quietly. The thought of not imprinting on her hurt to even think about.

"Are you saying this is my fault?" he snapped, looking at me.

I tried not to roll my eyes. I didn't want to get into a fight with my imprints father. It would just make life hard on all of us.

"No. But you do carry the gene, right? Which means Gwen might carry it too." I said, running my hand through my hair, trying hard to keep my mind from wandering to Gwen and I making and having puppies. I wouldn't be able to control my body's reaction to those thoughts, and that would make this conversation go downhill very fast.

Jack didn't seem to like it either. He winced, a disgusted look crossing his face. "Don't even talk about that. She's my daughter, my little girl. I don't want to think about her ever having kids."

"She will someday, Jack." I sighed. "Most girls do, eventually."

Jack glared at me. "You should watch yourself, Jake. You're Billy's son, but Gwen's my daughter, and I don't care if you are a protector. If you take advantage of her, after everything she's been through…" he left the threat hanging, and I looked at him, horrified.

"How could you even think I would do something like that to her?" I exclaimed. "I would never…" I couldn't even prosess the thought. "I mean, I can wait till she's ready, you know? I would never just force myself on her! That's just…" I cut off when I saw the look he was giving me; like he was about to shoot me any second. I shut my mouth, knowing I was just digging myself into a hole.

We sat there in silence, me turning the one question that was killing me over and over in my head.

"What happened to her?" I asked. "She knows about the leeches. You know that, right?" I asked, looking at him.

He suddenly looked much older than he was. He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Yes, I know. Her mother called and told me the whole story last year, about Gwen claiming to have seen vampires killing her friends."

I gasped, feeling like my heart had stopped and my brain had shut down. "She saw them kill her friends?" I whispered in horror.

Jack nodded. "That's what May said she was claiming. May doesn't know about them, and I wondered how Gwen knew. I had told her the legends when she was a kid, but I doubted she even remembered them. Until May told me she had an unhealthy obsession with Anne Rice. Then I knew she had put two and two together."

I sat there, frozen. My imprint, my Gwen…had seen those disgusting things…I started to shake, knowing that they had come so close to her, knowing that she had seen them kill people close to her, knowing that she could have been…If I ever met those bloodsuckers I would rip them to shreds. Another thought suddenly struck me, causing the anger I felt to just suddenly vanish.

"She knows the legends. Do you think she'll figure out about the pack?" I asked, glancing over at Jack.

He shrugged. "It's hard to say. Gwen can be pretty observant, but only when she wants to be. If she hasn't noticed anything now, I doubt she will." He gave me a look. "Not unless you do something to trigger her curiosity. Are you planning to tell her?"

I looked away. "I was. But now I don't know how she'll handle it."

"Hm." He nodded, seeming thoughtful. "You may be surprised. She'll probably be scared at first." He said, and I winced. He continued, not noticing. "But Gwen is anything if not strong. And I've already noticed how attached she's becoming to you. I kept warning her, but she seems to think I'm joking. Once she finds out, she'll most likely react like she did today. And I'll be angry about it. But it will pass."

It was strange how well Jack knew Gwen, even though they hardly ever spent much time together. He really was an observant guy. Then I frowned.

"How do you know how she reacted?" I asked.

He looked at me like I was stupid. "Embry called me. He told me what happened with Orenda's dog, and then at the hospital. And now you're here. It wasn't hard to figure out, Jake."

I felt blood rush to my face. "Oh, right."

Jack sighed again, sounding resigned. "Look Jacob." He said in a serious voice, and I turned to him, giving him my full attention. "I'm not going to pretend to understand imprinting. Sam tried to explain it to me and it sounds intense. He said you wouldn't be able to stop it, and I thought maybe I could try to keep Gwen away from you and the others." At that a stab of physical pain went through me, but Jack ignored how I seemed to stop breathing for a moment. "But Gwen is eighteen and pretty independent, and I knew I wouldn't be able to control her. So I let her go. And she started getting better. I'm grateful for that." Here he frowned. "But you better protect her, Jacob. You better make damn sure Gwen is loved and protected for the rest of her life. Because if something happens to her, I'll make sure those healing abilities of yours never work again. Do you understand me Jacob?" he said, sounding exactly like a protective father.

I nodded seriously. "You don't have to worry about a thing, Jack. If anything ever happens to her I'll probably just take care of that myself."

Jack nodded, seeming satisfied. He leaned back against the couch again and closed his eyes, seeming exhausted.

"So," I said, glancing over at him. "How do you feel about having a werewolf as your future son-in-law?" I asked, grinning.

That only earned me a dirty look. "Don't push it kid."

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><p><strong>So how was it? Did any of you think Gwen's dad knew about the wolves? I couldn't make up my mind if I wanted him to know or not, but then I figured that, yeah, he probably should. <strong>

**And we got to find out what happened to Gwen. But that's not the whole story, obviously. How did she get that scar on her chest? And how is she even still alive? Don't worry, all will be revealed very soon!**

**The next chapter is Gwen's mom's wedding, and she'll meet one of her old friends that tells her someone is looking for her…**

**Review!**


	10. Wedding

**Chapter 10 is here! I hope you like it. Unfortunatly chapter 11 has not yet been written, so your going to have to wait a little bit for it. I'm sorry! I know alot of you enjoy this story and like how I update like, everyday, but I went job hunting today. And as much as I like writing this story, real life comes first ya know? But I'll get on it and have it up hopefully in another day or so! Until then, I hope this tides you over!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. That belongs to Stephenie Meyer, but Gwen belongs to me. I'm her MAKER, hahaha! Eh, I'll shut up now...**

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><p>"<em>Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine tree, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve its life than destroy it"-<em>Henry Davis Thoreau

"_The difference between a mountain and a mole hill is your perspective"-_Al Neuharth

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><p>The fact that Jacob, my Jacob hunted vampires was still extremely hard to comprehend. He was just so…warm. He was a warm person, always smiling and generally happy. It was hard to imagine that he could do something that I thought was impossible, something like killing. But was it killing if the things he was killing were already dead?<p>

I didn't like thinking such philosophical thoughts. Vampires were living dead that fed off other peoples lives. They obviously could think and feel things, like real people. So were they people? We considered murderers in jail people, so did that count for vampires? Vampires, murderers, were they people because they still lived, but their hearts didn't beat? I didn't understand, and no matter how hard I thought about it, it just gave me a head ache.

I had seen what they could do. I had seen their faces as they…fed and killed the people close to me, and I couldn't imagine Jacob and his friends facing those things. What if they were the ones being killed this time? The thought of what had happened to my friends happening to Jacob and the rest of the pack…I wouldn't be able to come back from it. Because somehow they had become closer to me than any of my other friends had ever been. They were like family now.

A week pasted since Jacob had told me about them. I didn't like how he had been acting since then; so protective and hoverie, like he was walking on eggshells around me. I tried to understand it though. Jacob really cared about me, I knew this. I think the sight of me like that, so frightened and upset, nearly in pieces, seriously affected him. I tried to keep my patience with him and to keep it together. It seemed like everything he did was for me, so I tried to be strong for him.

Thankfully, Billy seemed normal.

"Hello there, Gwen." Billy greeted, raising a hand in greeting.

It had been a boring day as usual, and Jacob had come to get me early that morning, like he had been doing every day since I had learned about him. He walked behind me now, silent and with his eyes on me.

"Hi, Billy. How are you?" I asked, taking a seat next to him on the couch. Jacob sat next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder, being careful of my still injured arm.

"I've been alright." Billy said. "And you? How have you been?" he eyed me with a sort of sad, knowing expression.

I sighed. "Alright. I'm still having some trouble knowing that vampires live just down the road, you know?"

Billy nodded gravely. "That's understandable. But you know you're safe as long as you're on the reservation. And Jake and the rest of the pack will take care of you even when you're not." Here he glanced at Jacob, giving him a look like he was…disappointed.

I wondered why, glancing over at the boy sitting next to me. He looked guilty. Why?

"What's wrong?" I asked him, concerned. He looked at me, then quickly away.

"Nothing. How's your arm?" He asked, stroking it lightly with the tips of his fingers.

"Fine. I'm a little sad I'm going to have to go to my mom's wedding with it looking all messed up." I said, looking down at it.

It was still healing, and I was dreading going back to the hospital to get the stitches out once the time came. Thankfully that wouldn't be for another few weeks.

"When is your mother's wedding?" Billy asked. I looked up at him, smiling slightly.

"In a few days." I said. "I have to catch my flight tomorrow actually. Dad's going to drive me up to Seattle in the morning, so I can't stay late tonight."

"Why don't you let me drive you?" Jacob said.

I looked over at him. He was leaning toward me, so close he was practically right up against me, his heat speeping through my clothes. His face was pleading.

"Um, well if you want to, I guess. I'll pay for your gas." I offered, but he shook his head.

"Don't worry about the gas. I just want to make sure you get there safely. Since I can't come…" he grumbled, looking put out.

I laughed. "Don't pout. I'll be alright."

"I still don't like it. You being in a place leeches were…" he growled, narrowing his eyes.

I swallowed, feeling anxious. "I won't be where it happened. Mom's having the wedding at the Marriot near our house. I wasn't anywhere near home were I saw them." I said.

"They do have legs. I don't like it, Gwen." He said, shaking his head. "This is making me crazy."

"I was home for a year and nothing happened. I didn't see them once since then. I'll be okay." I said, trying to convince him.

But I think it was mostly for myself.

A little later Billy took off to the Clearwater's, leaving Jacob and I alone. As soon as he was gone Jacob had scooped me up and carried me to his room. I still didn't like being carried, but I had learned that no matter what I said Jacob would not listen. So I just let him pick me up and carry me around like a child. I would never admit it out loud, but it was actually kind of comforting a little. It made me feel safe.

We laid down on his bed and he practically wrapped himself around me, tucking me carefully against his chest and one leg over both of mine. He was unbearably hot, but he was so comfortable I didn't complain. I closed my eyes, feeling him run his fingers through my hair.

"Hey Jacob."

"Hmm?" He mumbled against the top off my head.

"Why are you always so warm? It's like you have a fever." I said. "The others are like that too."

"We just run warm." He mumbled, sounding sleepy. "We have better hearing and a better sense of smell than other people too."

"Is that part of your vampire hunting gig?" I asked lowly.

"Yeah." He said burying his nose in my hair.

"So, what? You're like a dog?" I asked. The thought of Jacob as a dog was funny. He was defiantly loyal enough. At least to me.

He stiffened against me, his fingers in my hair shuttering. "Something like that." He said in a whisper.

"What do I smell like to you?" I asked, pressing my nose against his chest.

He inhaled, his nose still buried in my hair. "Tropical fruit and the ocean. It's my favorite smell ever."

I actually wanted to giggle at that. Giggle! I didn't giggle. Jacob was starting to have a seriously bad effect on me. But I found I didn't care.

"What do I smell like to you?" He asked looking down at me softly.

I took a deep breath. Jacob's smell was hard to describe. It was like the scent of the earth, musky and piney, but with that smell only a man seemed to have.

"Um," I thought of how to describe it to him. "Like the forest, I guess. But…different. It's hard to describe. But it's a good smell." I smiled at him.

He smiled back, and then leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. It made butterflies erupt in my stomach. He laid his head back down on his pillows, closing his eyes.

"Let's take a nap for a little bit. I was patrolling late last night." He yawned.

I yawned too, relaxing against him. It sounded like the best idea ever.

* * *

><p>Jacob drove me the four hours up to Seattle the next morning. He waited with me while we waited for my flight, his arm around me the whole time. He kept repeating over and over how he didn't like me being away from him, that he didn't like me being where vampires had once been. I didn't like it either; the thought of being away from Jacob was really starting to get to me. I kept thinking about how I was turning into one of those clingy girls I had always despised, but then I thought about how none of them had met a vampire or had a vampire hunter for an almost boyfriend.<p>

Because that's what I was starting to think of Jacob as: my boyfriend. I had to keep reminding myself we weren't together like that, no matter how much I was starting to really want to be. The thought of being away from him was starting to really hurt. And that sort of irritated me. I was going to have to really work out my feelings this week.

Finally my flight was announced, and Jacob cupped my face in his hands. He looked at me intently.

"Please, please be careful. Keep your eyes open, and don't draw attention to yourself if you see anything that might be a vamp." He begged.

I nodded. "I'll be careful, I promise. I'll text you when I get there."

He pulled away from me slowly, his expression strained. He licked his lips. "When you get back there's something I want to tell you."

I tilted my head. "What?"

But he just shook his head. "Just please be careful."

"Hey, bend down for a second." I said, reaching my good arm up to him. "You really are too tall for me." I smiled.

He bent down instantly, eyes on mine. I wrapped my arm around his neck and gave him a gentle peck on the lips. Nothing heated or intense, just a quick, innocent peck. He looked surprised, his mouth slightly open.

"I'll be back in a couple of days." I smiled, turning to board my plane.

* * *

><p>My mother was thrilled when she saw me. She practically smothered me in her hug, gushing about how good I looked after only being away for a short amount of time. She kissed and hugged and smothered me right there in the middle of LAX, and it was then that I realized how much I missed her.<p>

My mother was a truly good person, the best in the world. I know I probably sound bias, but it was true. She wasn't really beautiful physically (I'm a horrible person for not thinking my mother was beautiful) but everyone knows looks don't matter. We got into arguments about the stupidest things, and our opinions differed on a lot of things. It got on my nerves how over-protective she was of me, how she always tried to shelter me and soften things for me. My grandmother (her mother) had told me once it was because I was my mother's only child, and she would do anything for me. It was probably because we were so alike that we argued the way we did. But she was my mother, and I loved her to death.

The wedding was a week from now, and then I would be going back to La Push two days after, which meant I would have the whole house to myself for a day.

The next six days were a whirl wind of activity, dress fittings and pattern picking out and all sorts of stuff that sent my mom into a fit of hysterics and temper, which caused my own temper to be set off, which caused arguments to ensue. I barely thought of the possibility of vampires being around.

However, Jacob made sure to call and text me very often. I think he was more paranoid than I was, which was saying something. Mom teased me about this, to which I teased her back about having a wedding only a few weeks after being proposed too. Of course, she didn't know about Jacob hunting vampires, so she thought it was just a really extreme case of puppy love. It was love alright, but I wasn't sure about the puppy part.

Finally, the day of the wedding arrived, and I was primped and puffed and all done up with make-up that made my skin itch. I loved dressing up, but I felt like someone had slathered me in creams and baby powder.

The wedding was traditional, even if it wasn't in a church, and about an hour long. Despite my dislike for Rick, he cleaned up alright, and my mom looked beautiful of course. When the kiss the bride part came, I had to look away. I was glad mom was so happy she was marrying Rick, but that didn't mean I wanted to watch her kiss him.

The reception was outside, and thanks to the sunny California weather, it was a perfect 75 degrees. Mom and Rick cut the cake, we had dinner and all that, and then it was time to mingle among the guests.

There weren't many, just our close friends and family, but a familiar head of dirty blond hair nearly had me pushing people over to get to her.

"Kate!" I waved, yelling over the music. "Kate! Kate! Over here!"

Kate looked over, her blue eyes lighting up when she saw me. "Oh my gosh! Gwen!"

We rushed toward each other and crashed together in a huge hug, laughing and talking over each other.

Kate Anderson had been one of my best friends my whole life. My mom and her mom had known each other for forever, so it didn't surprise me that she was here. But I hadn't seen Kate in nearly a year, since the incident.

We pulled back from each other, looking each other over. "Gwen! Oh my gosh, you look so good! So pretty!" she smiled

"And you look just as boobielious as ever I see." I grinned, looking unashamed at her huge breasts.

She laughed. "And you're just as flat-chested as ever."

"Hey!" I said, placing one hand on my chest. "I'm a B cup! That's a perfectly modest size!"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, if your fourteen."

We laughed together, sitting down at a free table. She leaned forward excitedly.

"So tell me how you've been. I haven't seen you since…you know." She winced.

I sighed. "Well," I started "You know I was in the hospital for a while. After that I had to go to therapy. I mean, it was hard seeing something like that, but everyone thought I was crazy, you know?" I said.

Kate nodded. "I remember. Personally, I never thought you were crazy. There are just some really sick people out there who like to pretend their vampires. I'm just sorry you saw something like that."

I nodded, feeling a little put out. Kate was my best friend, but she was just like everyone else. I felt like I was in some kind of inner circle; I couldn't tell her vampires really were real and that I hadn't been crazy. That they weren't people just _pretending_ to be vampires.

"After a year of that, Mom and Rick thought that living with my dad in La Push might help, so that's where I've been for the last month and a half." I shrugged.

She nodded. "Yeah, your mom told me that. I called her a few weeks ago to see how you were doing and she told me about it. Did you make any new friends?" she asked. "Tell me all about it!"

So I did. I told her about Jacob and the rest of the pack, about Emily and Kim and Leah. I told her about Billy and my dad, and how we got together every few weeks to have bonfires with everyone. I told her about how much the rain got on my nerves after living in it for a month. When I told her about how I had got mauled last week she had gasped.

"I was wondering about that." She said, looking down at my gauze covered arm. "What did they do to the dog?"

"The elders had it put down. I think my dad and Jacob had something to do with it too." I said, remembering how upset they had been.

Kate grinned. "Sounds like you're really into this Jacob guy."

I smiled, actually feeling a little shy about it. "I guess. A little. He can be a little annoying, but he's a really great guy. Oh, I have a picture of him. Wanna see?" I asked, digging in my purse for my phone.

Kate smiled at the picture. It was of Jacob just coming out from under the Beetle, all grease covered with his arms above his head as he pushed himself out from under the car. He was shirtless, as usual, so it was more like a pinup the way he was looking. He was grinning at the camera.

Kate smirked. "Mm, very nice." She said slyly, handing the phone back.

"He really is. He's awesome."

"Oh!" Kate jumped in her chair, clapping her hands together. "Speaking about good looking guys, you'll never guess who I saw a couple weeks ago! Dennis Philipps!"

I gave her a puzzled look. "Dennis Philipps? I thought he moved away just before graduation."

She nodded. "Yeah, he did. Like a few months or so before I think. He came into the cafe a few weeks ago with some other people. Oh, my gosh Gwen, you'll never guess how much he changed!" she actually blushed.

I frowned, curious. "Did he move back or something?" I asked.

Kate shook her head. "I don't know, I didn't ask. He asked me about you, how you were doing. I told him about what happened."

My eyes widen. "You told him?" I asked, surprised and confused. Why would Dennis Philipps be asking about me?

She nodded. "Yeah. He seemed worried and asked me were you were. I told him."

"What? Why? Kate, you shouldn't just tell people about that! How could you?" I asked, feeling betrayed.

She looked a little guilty. "Sorry, but he really did seem worried. You know he had a huge crush on you back in school, right?"

"Urg. Kate, you have such a big mouth." I groaned.

She gave me a sheepish smile. "I said I was sorry. But it was really hard not to tell him. Gwen, you should have seen him! He looked gorgeous!" she sighed.

I frowned. "Gorgeous? Dennis wasn't gorgeous. He was a skinny little nerd with Erkel glasses."

Kate laughed. "Yeah, he was, but not anymore. He got rid of his glasses and he looked like he had been working out." Then she frowned. "But he was a lot paler then I remembered. Like, pasty."

I froze, eyes widening. Dennis hadn't been pasty. He had a deep golden skin tone the last time I saw him. I felt a chill run down my back.

"What do you mean, he was pasty? Like pale pasty or bone white pasty?" I asked carefully, trying to keep the edginess out of my voice. Kate didn't seem to notice.

"Bone white pasty. But I swear Gwen, you should have seen him!" she gushed.

I was trying hard to keep cool. The way she was describing him…

"His eyes. How did his eyes look? And you said was he with some people?" I asked, trying to seem calm.

Kate seemed puzzled. "What's with the third degree?" she asked curiously.

I shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. "Just curious. I want to know how much he's changed." I said. "Since he was asking about me and everything."

This seemed to pacify her. She shrugged. "His eyes were brown. Like a rusty brown."

"Just brown?" I asked.

"Well he did have these purplish circles under them, but other than that they looked okay."

"What about the people he was with?" I asked, feeling on edge.

"A blond girl and boy, but they didn't talk to me. They were just as good looking as he was, Gwen! I wonder if it was some sort of new diet or something." She wondered.

I shot up so fast out of my seat I nearly toppled it over. Kate jumped, looking up at me.

"Gwen? Are you okay?" she asked, eyes wide.

"I have to make a phone call." I said quickly, rushing away from her and into the hotel.

I ran through the entrance hall and over to the bathroom, making sure it was empty before I locked myself into one of the stalls. I fumbled for my phone, my hands shaking. I pushed the speed dial for Jacob's phone and waited, my heart pounding.

It rang for what seemed like forever before his voicemail came on. I swore loudly. He must be patrolling.

"Jacob!" I exclaimed as soon as it beeped, "Call me back as soon as you get this! It may be nothing, but call me as soon as you get this! Love you, bye!"

I hung up the phone then suddenly froze, realizing what I had just said. I had just told Jacob I loved him. The words had just come out of my mouth, so natural…

I shook my head. No! That wasn't important right now! There was a possibility that Dennis Philipps was a vampire, and looking for me. He could be headed to La Push right now! He had two others with him, three vampires…

I gasped, covering my mouth, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The night of the incident, there had been three vampires. Kate had said the two with him were blond. The three vampires that night had been two blonds and one with black hair. Dennis had black hair…

I groaned, sinking down onto the bathroom floor, feeling sick and dizzy. This wasn't happening, this wasn't happening…

* * *

><p>Jacob didn't call me back until a few hours later. The wedding had been over since a little after I had first called him, and I was now sitting at home, wrapped in a blanket and sitting in my old closet with a flash light. Mom had left with Rick hours before, catching a late flight to Hawaii. They would be gone for a week, so I didn't have to worry about them.<p>

I nearly jumped out of my skin when my phone started vibrating; Jacob's name flashing across the screen. I put it to my ear.

"Hello?" I whispered.

"Gwen!" Jacob's voice sounded panicked and out of breath. "What is it? What wrong? I nearly had a heart attack when I heard your message."

"Jacob, I think there's a vampire heading to La Push. And I think I know who it is. I think it might be after me." I whispered, surprised my voice was so steady.

Jacob, however, wasn't so calm. "What!" he exclaimed so loudly I had to pull the phone away from my ear.

"Listen, listen! My friend Kate told me…" I started to relay what Kate had told me and the similarities I had remembered from the vampires the night of the incident.

Jacob stayed silent through it all, but his breathing was heavy, like he just got finished running a marathon. "You're telling me there's a leech after you?" he breathed, voice angry. He sounded like he was speaking through his teeth.

"I only think he_ might_ be a vampire. He moved away before graduation, and before that he was normal. It could just be a coincidence…" I trailed off, hopefully.

Jacob was silent, but I could still hear his heavy breathing. Finally he spoke. "Stay there." He said.

"What?"

"I don't want you anywhere near here until we figure this out." He growled.

I quickly shook my head, knowing that wouldn't work. "No, Jacob, I can't stay here. What if he does come to La Push and doesn't find me? He could go after dad! Or he'll come back here looking. He could go after my mom, Jacob! I have to come back to La Push! It's the safest place for me." I said, curling into a fetal position.

Again, he was silent. Thinking, I assumed. "Get on the first flight you can. I'm going to call the pack and let them know what's going on. I'll be there to meet you." He said, almost growling.

I nodded. "Alright. I'll be there soon."

I was on edge the whole time between then and when I got to the airport in Seattle. I had left mom a voice message to let her know I went back early, just in case she called the house. I simply told her I didn't want to stay in the house another day by myself with nothing to do. She would buy that.

I spotted Jacob easily when I exited my gate. He was easily spottible over the heads of everyone else, and the look on his face was worrisome. Edgy and nervous and sick. It faded to relief when he saw me.

I ran to him and he scooped me up easily, wrapping me in a tight hug and burying his face between my neck and shoulder.

"Gwen." He breathed, seeming relived. He pulled back and looked at me, but didn't put me down. His eyes were pained. "There's something I need to tell you."

* * *

><p><strong>So, how was it? Like? Dislike? <strong>

**In the next chapter Jacob will finally tell Gwen about the wolves. Any ideas on how she'll react?**

**Reviews please!^^**


	11. Wolves

**So here is chapter 11. Gwen's reaction is completely different than what I had planned, and I don't know why. When I sat down at my laptop to type, this is what came out, which means I'm going to have to tweak the next chapter. Urg, Gwen is really unpredictable.**

**Anyway, disclaimer: After 11 chapters I think you know by now that Twilight is not mine. But Gwen still is. Kay?**

**And I hope you enjoy Gwen's rant about Bella. It came from the heart^^**

* * *

><p>"<em>Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out."-<em>James Conant

"_Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference"-_Winston Churchill

* * *

><p>The ride back to La Push was quiet and tense. I tried to get whatever Jacob wanted to tell me out of him, but he refused to tell me anything until we got back to the reservation. Whatever it was had him acting very nervous. He kept clutching at the steering wheel, turning his knuckles white. It was killing me.<p>

"So what did you tell the pack?" I asked, trying to break the tension.

"Just what you told me. Sam and the others are patrolling all around the reservation and parts of Forks." He said licking his lips.

"Anything?" I asked.

He shook his head. "We haven't found a thing. We told the Cullen's to keep an eye out too, but the pixie says she hasn't seen anything."

I looked over at him. "Pixie?" I asked, feeling my stomach twist in disgust and fear. I didn't like talking about the Cullen's.

Jacob knew this. He shifted in his seat. "Err, yeah. I didn't tell you because I thought it might scare you, but some vampires have extra powers." He glanced over at me, watching my reaction.

I simply stared at him. I didn't like talking about vampires, but the fact that they had powers kind of fascinated me. Anne Rice never mentioned this. "Like what?" I asked.

Jacob seemed surprised that I had asked. He looked over at me with raised eyebrows. "Um, well," he began, looking back at the road. "The pixie one, Alice, she has visions. Like of the future."

I stared at him wide eyed. "She sees the future?" I asked in awe.

"Yeah. But it changes a lot, apparently. She sort of always watches for anything that might happen to threaten them. She said she'd watch if any new vamps decided to make a visit." He said, narrowing his eyes.

"What else?" I asked, leaning forward. "Why do they have powers? Do all vampires have them?"

Jacob looked over at me, seeming confused. "This doesn't scare you?" he asked.

"It does, a little." I said honestly. "But for some reason it doesn't scare me as much as the vampires themselves. I'm not…sure why."

I really wasn't. Anything that had to do with vamps scared the living shit out of me, but the fact that they had some sort of magic power didn't upset me that much. Unless they used them against me or the ones I loved. In that aspect, it did scare me.

"Well," he paused, seeming to think about something very carefully. "The emo one, Jasper, he can sort of influence a person's emotions. He uses it a lot when we all get together. Tempers run high when we have to meet up."

"I thought you guys were friends?" I said, recalling the conversation we had the week before.

Jacob sorted. "Sometimes. Just because we made a truce doesn't mean we always get along. Seth loves them though."

"What about you? You said you go to visit them sometimes?" I asked, looking over at him.

He winced, which made me curious. "Jacob?"

He sighed. "That's…that's part of what I'm going to tell you. But I want to wait until we get home. Just in case you never want to see me again." He said, wincing again.

This made me frown. "Why wouldn't I want to see you again?"

He shook his head, eyes closed tightly. He looked like he was struggling to speak, like he wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out.

"Jacob?" I asked again, tilting my head. He was starting to make me fell anxious. "What is it? Is it dad? Is dad okay?" I asked, feeling slight panic build up in my chest.

"Jack's fine, Gwen. We've got Brady and Collin circling your house, just in case." He said airily.

"So what is it? You're starting to worry me a here." I said.

"I'll tell you as soon as we get back to your place." He promised.

He reached across the seat and took my arm, pulling me closely against his side. He kept his arm around me, the other steering the Rabbit. I felt him lean his head on mine.

"Just let me hold you until then. Please." He said quietly.

"Mmm." I nodded, wrapping one arm behind his back. I leaned my head against his shoulder, feeling his heat nearly burning me through my clothes. It made me feel drowsy. All the stress from worrying finally caught up with me, and I started to drift off right there, relaxing against Jacob's strong heat.

* * *

><p>"Gwen. Wake up honey."<p>

Jacob's husky voice started to pull me out of a hazy dream. I couldn't really remember what it was about. All I remembered was a flash of pale skin and russet colored fur.

I yawned, stretching as I felt Jacob's hot hand pull away from where he had been lightly shaking me. I looked over at him with hazy eyes.

"Are we home?" I asked, yawning again.

Jacob nodded, staring at me like he was about to throw up. His eyes and body were tense, but he was just staring at me, like he was drinking me in, trying to memorize my face.

"Will you take a walk with me?" he asked.

"You going to tell me whatever it was you wanted to tell me now?" I asked, sitting up straighter.

He nodded, turning away and looking into the forest. It was dark now, the only light coming from my house's porch light and the light on our small garage. I hated the dark, but with Jacob here it didn't seem so bad. I almost forgot that I had a potential vampire after me.

"Alright. C'mon then." I said, getting out of the Rabbit and heading for the house. Jacob's hand on my arm stopped me.

I looked back at him in question but he only shook his head. "Not there. I need to show you, and I can't show you in the house."

I frowned. What did he need to show me that he couldn't in the house? "Okay." I said slowly, facing him.

He took my hand in a warm, firm grip and started to head toward the woods by my house. I stopped, almost causing him to jerk my arm out of its socket. He looked back at me. "Gwen?"

"There's no way I'm going in there at night." I said, waving my hand toward the darkness, feeling edgy.

Jacob's hand tightened around mine. "You don't have to worry about anything, Gwen. The guys are around patrolling now, and besides, I would never let anything hurt you. I swear."

I looked up at him and his eyes were pleading and sincere. They looked big, like he was begging me to believe him. Puppy eyes. I swallowed nervously. "Why can't you show me out here?" I asked.

"I can't. You'll see." He seemed hurt that I didn't seem to believe him.

I took a deep breath, reminding myself that this was Jacob, not some stranger I had just met. He tugged on my hand a little and I followed, but I still wasn't over my fear of the dark woods. I felt like Red Riding Hood or something, scared of going into the woods, but knowing that she had too, for someone she loved. I didn't know why, but I had a feeling I had to go into those woods, for Jacob. So I followed him in.

Thankfully we didn't go very far. I could still clearly see the house and garage, the two little lights shining like beacons in the darkness. I leaned against a tree as Jacob let go of my hand, turning to face me. I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling the chill seeping through my clothes. It was near the end of October now, and it was getting so cold, I wondered when the snow would start falling.

Jacob, however, didn't seem bothered by the chill. He had taken off his shirt in the Rabbit, and he was barefoot, but I didn't question it. All the guys walked around like that, like it was completely natural. I suspected it was because they always seemed to be burning up.

"So what did you need to tell me?" I asked, looking at him in the darkness.

I could barely see him, even though he was only a few feet from me. I could see his shape and I could see him moving, but that was about it. I watched as his arm rose to run through his hair, a nervous habit he had.

"You know that me and the rest of the guys hunt vampires, right?" He asked, his voice hesitant.

"Uh-huh." I said, nodding, wondering where this was going.

"Well, it's sort of a long story, how that happened." He said.

"Are you going to tell me?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's just really long and complicated. I don't really know where to start." I watched as he shifted in the darkness a bit, and I frowned. He must be really nervous if he was moving around like a little girl about to pee her pants.

"I hate to say it, since its so cliché, but the beginning is usually best." I said, rubbing my arms.

"The beginning, huh?" Jacob said. He seemed to notice how cold I was so he came over and wrapped his arms around me. His warmth instantly made me feel like I was thawing out and I buried my face in his arm, feeling my nose warm.

"Okay, well," He sighed, "I guess it all begins when Bella came back."

I looked up at him. I could see his face a little better now and it was blank. But there was something there, behind his eyes that I couldn't really place. Sadness? Pain? Regret? I didn't know, but I didn't like it and I frowned.

"Bella? What's she got to do with this?" I asked, feeling something build in my chest at the mention of her name.

"A lot, actually." He looked down at me. "Will you just listen? Don't say anything until the end? Please?" he asked pleadingly.

I nodded and he took a deep breath. "Okay."

So I listened. I listened with anger and jealously and disgust as he told me about how Bella's boyfriend, who turned out to be a_ vampire_, left her, and how she fell all to pieces about it. Jacob told me about how she came to him, _used_ him in my opinion, to make herself feel better about it, and how he fell in love with her. That made me angry. Very angry. I don't think I had ever felt so angry in my life. But I kept quiet, and let him continue.

He explained to me how he had tried to get her to leave the vampire (Edward, Jacob said his name was) for him, but she wouldn't listen. He told me how they protected her from an army of new born vampires (here I felt a stab of fear go through me) made by an angry vamp named Victoria who wanted revenge on both Edward and Bella, because they had killed her mate. And after that she _still_ didn't want Jacob.

Edward proposed to her (I felt disgust again) and she accepted. Jacob told me how that killed him and he took off for a little while, but came back for the wedding. That's where Bella told him she wanted to be with Edward in every way, including being turned into a vampire. I assumed that when she meant in every way she also meant sexually, and it took everything in me to keep from dry heaving. This girl was sick.

Then came the last part. Bella had got pregnant by her vampire and had the child, but had been changed into a vampire herself. She had got her wish, and after that, a bunch of other horrifying stuff went down, consisting of an Italian coven called the Volturi, who wanted the kid. They faced them down with a bunch of other vamps, the kid was still alive, and that was it. Happily ever after for Bella and her little vampire family.

Jacob was silent, eyes on my face. I was staring into the forest, feeling a boiling in my chest and through my whole body. Was my blood boiling? I couldn't really tell; I had so many emotions running through me at that story, so many thoughts. But my main one was of Bella and Jacob.

"Are you done?" I asked patently, not looking at him.

"No. There's a lot more, but I know you want to say something. Go ahead. I know if you keep it bottled up it'll only be worse when you finally explode." Jacob said, humor in his voice.

So I did.

"That little bitch!" I yelled, yanking myself out of Jacob's arms. I swerved around to look at him.

"Was she insane? How could she want to be with one of those…those…things? How could she want to be one? I mean, is she really so pathetic and selfish that she needs to make everyone miserable just so she can feel better because her boyfriend left her? I mean, what, she couldn't stand on her own two feet and be all 'fine. I don't need you, you douche.'? She's a disgrace to all women everywhere!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands around.

"And you!" Here I pointed at Jacob. He seemed surprised. "She left you! How could she do that! How could she leave you for that thing? She had _you_! Girls would kill to have you and she just…just…spit in your face like you weren't even worth her time! How could she do that? God, I haven't even met her and she pisses me off! I hope I never do meet her, because if I do I'm likely to punch her in the face!" I yelled into the air.

Jacob was staring at me in silence, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Then he laughed. He laughed so hard it echoed in the forest, with his head back and arms around his stomach. I swear he might have even been crying. I glared at him, fisting my hands, still feeling angry.

"Shut up Jacob, it's not funny! She should have had some sort of backbone to deal with her stupid boyfriend leaving and not come crying to you. It was stupid and selfish and cruel of her to use you like that." I growled.

It seemed like forever before Jacob finally got a hold of himself enough to talk to me. He was grinning wildly, his nervousness seemingly disappeared. He looked at me with eyes full of humor and affection.

"Gwen, you're the best. You really are." He chuckled, shaking his head. I gaped at him.

"Aren't you upset?" I asked in shock. "I mean, she really hurt you. That doesn't bother you?"

"Yeah, it did. You have no idea. But I'm over it now. It just isn't important anymore. It doesn't even hurt to think about. She's just a leech now. I mean she's still my friend, but it doesn't hurt to be around her anymore." He explained with a shrug.

"Which reminds me," I said, frowning and crossing my arms. "You lied to me."

Jacob blinked at me owlishly. "What? When?"

"You told me Bella was dead." I said, feeling that familiar feel of irritation in my chest.

"She is. Technically." Jacob said, but he looked guilty. "I couldn't tell you about the vamps then. I didn't know that you already knew."

"You could have told me she was still alive. You didn't have to feed me that stupid sob story about how she died giving birth and having me feel all sorry for you!" I exclaimed. "Do you know how stupid I feel right now?"

Jacob's shoulders sagged and he huffed. He looked away. "You're probably right. But I didn't know what to do. You were talking about Michael and it just reminded me about Bella dying. It was just easy to relate to."

I huffed, clenching my teeth. I understood that. We could relate to each other because we both knew what it was like to love and lose that person. He didn't know that I knew about vampires at the time, but he didn't have to lie and tell me Bella was dead. It made me feel stupid, which just ticked me off.

"You didn't have to tell me Bella was dead just to relate to me. You lost her, that's relatable enough." I scowled, crossing my arms.

"Sorry." He said quietly.

"Hmm." I glanced around the forest and was suddenly aware of how cold I was again. I looked back at him. "You said there was more you needed to tell me. What is it?"

He took a deep breath and looked at me with a resigned expression. "You know the legends of our tribe, right? About Taha Aki and the spirit warriors?"

I nodded. "Yeah. What about them?"

"You remember how they said that we could shape shift into wolves to kill the Cold Ones? The cold ones are vampires. You know that right?" he asked hesitantly.

Again, I nodded, feeling impatient and irritated. "Yeah, I figured that out a while ago. What are you-" I paused, something in my brain clicking.

The Cold Ones were vampires. In the stories Taha Aki and his descendants transformed into wolves in order to kill them. That's where we got the idea our tribe was descended from wolves. When I had started reading Anne Rice, it reminded me of the stories of how Taha Aki and his children could turn into wolves in order to destroy vampires. Jacob and the others killed vampires. If vampires were real then…

Jacob watched me with a tense face as I put it together. He was still as a statue, just watching me.

"Gwen?" he whispered. "Are you…?" He leaned toward me a bit, eyes wide and worried.

I felt lightheaded; everything was spinning and little lights were going off behind my eyes. My stomach felt queasy, even though I hadn't eaten in a couple of hours.

"Urg…" I bent over, kneeling down onto the grass and dirt, feeling the cold wetness seep though my jeans. I held my head in my palms, trying to be very still.

"Gwen!" Jacob approached me slowly, but with an urgent air around him. "Are you alright?" he asked lowly.

I swallowed back the weird taste that had developed at the back of my throat. "Jacob…are you and the others…wolves?" I felt stupid just saying it out loud.

"…yeah." He answered quietly.

It felt like my stomach twisted and started doing flips. There were no thoughts going through my head at that moment. My head was completely blank. I continued to kneel on the wet forest floor, my head in my hands. I felt Jacob touch my shoulder tentatively.

"Gwen? Gwen, please say something. You're killing me here." He whispered, voice strained.

"Show me." I said, not looking up.

I could feel the surprise roll off him. "What?"

"Is it like in the stories? Like, you really turn into a wolf?" I asked quietly, slowly lifting my head to look at him.

He nodded, "Yeah. We all do."

"Show me then. I want to see." I said.

Fear was twisting up my insides. It was flowing through me like a really hot cup of tea that I had just downed, scorching my tongue and insides. It was on my skin, making me feel hot and cold at once, like I had the flu.

What would he look like? Like the lycans in the Underworld movies, or the werewolves in Van Helsing? Ugly and disgusting? Would he try to attack me, eat me? Everything in me was telling me to run, to get away from him, so why couldn't I move? Why did I just ask him to show me?

"Are you sure Gwen? I don't want to scare you." He said, looking down at me with gentle eyes.

I looked back at him, sure of what my answer was, even though I could feel the fear creeping into me. I nodded.

"Yes." There was no hesitation in my voice.

He nodded, standing up. "I'm going to go behind the trees. My clothes don't exactly change with me." He said, motioning to his cut-offs.

"Alright." I said.

I watched him as he walked toward the cluster of tress in front of us, my heart pounding and my adrenaline pumping. The air felt tense, suddenly hot and suffocating. I forced myself slowly to my feet, feeling my head spin again. I took a few deep breaths and faced the woods.

It was silent for a minute, and then the foliage in front of me when Jacob had disappeared rustled, making me draw in a breath. I watched as a long snout appeared, then a gigantic head and paws, then a bulky body. He came out very slowly, eyes on me.

I stared at him in a mixture of awe and fear, instantly recognizing him as the same wolf that I had seen on my first day here.

"Jacob?" I whispered, my voice airy, like a gasp.

The wolf nodded once, slowly, not moving a muscle. I sucked in a breath, trying to keep from fainting as that same hot/cold feeling washed over me. My knees felt weak, and I found myself sinking down into the wet earth again.

The Jacob wolf watched me, lowering his head and whining, looking like he was nudging the air. He took one slow step toward me and I stiffened, causing him to go very still and whine again.

It was a sharp whine, and I had heard Shep make that same noise after I had accidently closed the door on his tail. Jacob was in pain.

"Are you..okay?" I asked in a whisper, feeling my heart clench.

His ears perked and he blinked, looking surprised, raising his head again. I almost expected him to open his mouth and start speaking, but of course he couldn't.

I wanted to touch him. I don't know why because I was still really afraid of him. But it was like my arm raised by itself, reaching for him slowly.

Jacob took another step forward, and when I didn't make any move, he came forward. My legs felt weak, but I still had to control myself to not get up and run. It was the strangest feeling. I felt like I wanted to run, but I wanted to stay with him. It was like when you're looking up at a really terrifying looking rollercoaster. You want to go on it, but at the same time you just wanted to sit on the side lines and watch. That's what it felt like.

He came forward so he was right in front of me, just close enough so that the tips of my fingers could brush over his fur. He kneeled down slowly, resting his huge head on his equally huge paws. His eyes watched me cautiously.

I ran shaking fingers through the fur on top of his head. It was surprisingly soft for being so course looking. And it was warm. It felt like I could just bury myself in it and fall into the best sleep I would ever have. It was a comforting feeling, like a blanket or an old childhood toy. Somehow, as soon as I touched it, some of my fear vanished.

Jacob's eyes closed, making a sort of purring sound in his throat. Despite the fact that I was still a little scared, it made me smile. I continued to stroke his fur, burying my hand in it and making Jacob purr. I don't know for how long we sat there. It could have been forever and it would have been okay.

Finally, I pulled my hand away and Jacob's eyes opened, staring at me. I gave a tentative smile.

"I'm okay. Can you change back now?" I asked, surprised at how steady my voice came out.

He nodded once, standing slowly and turning back toward the bushes. I watched as tail disappeared into the darkness. It was slightly wagging, and that made me smile again.

He came out a second later, dressed in his cut-offs. He looked worried as he approached me slowly.

"It's okay." I said, suddenly feeling strangely calm. "I'm not going to run."

"Are you alright?" He asked, coming to sit in front of me. "For a second there I thought you were going to pass out."

"For a second there so did I." I said, looking at him.

We sat there staring at each other, questions floating between us, but not knowing how to make themselves known. Finally, Jacob spoke.

"So you're okay with this?" He asked, sounding sort of hesitant and incredulous.

"I wouldn't," I paused, thinking. "I wouldn't say I'm okay with it." I said honestly. "I mean, does this mean every fairytale is real? Are goblins and witches and zombies real too?" I asked feeling astounded.

Jacob shrugged. "I don't know. I've never met a zombie. Though that might be really awesome." He smiled.

"Yeah, that's what I thought about vampires too…until I met them." I said harshly.

He didn't say anything for another moment. "So how do you feel about me turning into a hairy monster?" he asked seriously.

"I…don't know." I said, looking down at the ground. "I mean…you're not a vampire. You kill them, but…you're still Jacob…right?" I looked up at him, as if for confirmation.

He looked down at me with wide eyes, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Then he smiled a smile that I thought would light up the whole forest. "Yeah."

"It's going to take some getting used to." I said, looking away from him. "And I still have a lot of questions and a lot to think about. But for right now, I think it's okay."

"There's still more I need to tell you." Jacob said, and I couldn't help the groan that escaped my lips. I didn't think I could take any more of the supernatural tonight.

Jacob seemed to realize this. He shook his head and chuckled. "I'll tell you another time. You should get to bed; it's late."

I nodded as he got up and easily lifted me into his arms. I was asleep before we even got to the house.

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><p><strong>So…What did you think? How was Gwen's rant? I really enjoyed writing that part :)<strong>

**In the next chapter Gwen finally tells Jacob exactly what happened back in LA…**

**Reviews please!**


	12. Confide

**I just want to say how amazing you all are. You guys were so kind and understanding about my little depression, I just want to thank all of you. A lot of you said you are also pet owners and lovers, so I knew you understood. And thanks to all your kind messages and reviews, I was able to write this chapter. Unfortunatly, my cat is still sick. She gets better, then seems to worsen, than gets better again. We have her on a speical diet of only chicken and fish, no salty catfood, because she is basically in heart failure. I can only hope she goes to sleep and just doesn't wake up, because I don't want to have to take her to be put down in some cold vet's office. I'd rather have her go at home, where she can be comfortable and with her family.**

**So again, thank you all for your love and support. I apoligize in advance if this chapter doesn't seem up to my usual standards.**

**Discalimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I only own Gwen and the story line.**

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><p><em>"If you want to conqure fear, don't sit at home and think about it. Go out and get busy."-<em>Dale Carnegie

_"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment"-_Buddah

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><p>When I woke up the next morning I felt like crap. I had a pounding headache and my eyes felt sore and puffy. I had had that dream again. The dream I had so often after the incident occurred, and I always woke up feeling like crap afterward. I hadn't had it lately, and I briefly wondered if maybe it was because Jacob had spilled the beans about being a wolf.<p>

I got up slowly and popped a few aspirin dry. After that I took a shower, turning the water up hot enough to almost scald me. I don't know if I was becoming masochistic, but it felt good. Getting out, I quickly dried myself off, wiping away the steam that had fogged up the mirror.

I looked terrible. I was pale, and my eyes were indeed red and puffy. The light circles under my eyes that had recently gone away had come back, giving me an almost shrunken, waxy look.

Was this because of the dream? Or was it because of Jacob? I didn't like the idea of Jacob causing this. It was the dream, I knew it. I had often woken up the past year after having it, looking exactly like this.

I thought back to last night, how Jacob had practically spilled his guts about everything that had happened before I came here. About the wolves, vampires, Bella, the pain he had felt, everything. He had confided in me, almost given a piece of himself to me. All that wasn't something you just share with a random person. I had known Jacob and I had a connection, almost like a cord connecting us, and some how it felt a little stronger after last night.

In that moment, I decided I would tell him everything.

It was hard to force down some breakfast, but Dad wouldn't let me go until I had some food in me. The cereal went down like wood shavings, tasteless and rough. Dad actually didn't want me to go at all, but I had snapped at him, telling him to leave me alone and that I would be back later. I was acting like a bitch thanks to my crappy mood, and I knew I would feel bad about it later, but at that moment I really didn't care. I didn't even care that there might be a couple of vamps after me. The way I was feeling, no vamp would dare attempt to piss me off.

When I got to the Black's house it was dark and empty, the front door locked. The curtains were closed tightly, and it really looked kind of lonely. I knocked on the door a couple of times, and even tried peeking into the windows, but the house really did seem deserted.

I was just about to head home when I heard a loud clank and a curse coming from the direction of Jacob's shed. I rolled my eyes at my stupidity; of course Jacob would be in his shed.

I walked around the house, my boots making squishing sounds in the soft mud, my hands in my pockets. They felt clammy, cold and sweaty, and my stomach was in knots. I had no idea why I was so nervous. This was Jacob. He had told me a secret much bigger than mine, and yet here I was, hesitating. Jacob had told me everything, holding nothing back. I wanted to do the same for him.

I knocked on the shed door, seeing him half hidden under the hood of the beetle.

"Gwen, you know you never have to knock." He came up chuckling, his thumb in his mouth.

I half smiled. "I didn't know you sucked your thumb, Jacob. That gives you buck teeth, you know." I said.

He looked up at me, his eyes taking in my appearance and instantly taking on a concerned look.

"You look terrible." He said, getting that little worried crease in the middle of his eyebrows. "What happened? Are you alright?" He asked, hurrying over to me and wrapping me in his arms.

I wrapped my arms around his waist, instantly realizing how the short walk from my house to his had chilled me. His warmth always seemed to make me realize how cold I was in La Push. I never really noticed it until I was next to him.

I leaned my cold cheek on his chest. "I want to tell you about what happened in LA." I said, closing my eyes.

I felt him jerk a little in surprise and look down at me. "Are you sure? I know how much you hate talking about it."

I nodded. "I think I should. What with the possibility of them being after me and all." I pulled away and looked up into this concerned face. "Plus, you told me your biggest secret. I think I should tell you mine."

He swallowed, nodding. "Billy is at the Clearwater's. Do you want to go inside?"

I nodded, taking his hand, even though it was dirty with car grease. We went back inside, and while Jacob went to go quickly clean himself up, I sat on the couch, gathering my thoughts.

I had to be strong if I was going to relive this. All the gory details where there in my head, but did I want to give them all the Jacob? I didn't want to upset him, because every time there was a possibility of something happening to me he got angry. I still wasn't completely sure why that was, but I had grown so close to him that I didn't want him to be hurt or upset because of me.

Jacob hunted vampires, faced them in situations I couldn't even dream of. I'm sure he knew what they could do and what they were capable of. But could he handle what I was about to tell him?

At that moment he walked back in, actually wearing a t-shirt for once. Without a word he gathered me up into his arms and sat me on his lap, wrapping his arms around me. I leaned my head against his shoulder, my head under his chin.

"Are you sure you want to tell me this?" he asked, his voice rumbling in his chest. I could feel the vibrations of it in my side.

"Yeah. You need to know." I said, nuzzling my head into his shoulder. I took a steadying breath and began.

"I keep saying it was in LA, but if you really want to be specific about it, it actually happened in Hollywood. I remember every detail about it as clear as day, like it happened just a few minutes ago. It happened at 5:30 in the morning, just before the sun came up in an ally on Hollywood Boulevard, near the El Capitan Theater. I was wearing a pair of jeans and my favorite blue top with boots. I had a white flower clip in my hair, covered in glitter. For some reason that flower clip stands out clearly in my head. Probably because once the paramedics got there I had come to enough to catch a glimpse of it on the ground. It was covered in blood, but the sun was still making it sparkle. I think that's when it really hit me, what had happened."

I paused, taking a second to lick my suddenly dry lips. I could hear Jacob's heart beat and breathing. Other than that it was silent throughout the house. It was like the house itself knew now was not the time to interrupt. I continued.

"There had been a party for the graduating seniors the day after graduation at school. But it only lasted until 11 and my friends and I still wanted to celebrate. I was the one who suggested we go to Hollywood."

It was at that moment my throat had decided to close up. It was guilt. I felt guilty that I had been the one to suggest we go to the place where we would spend our last few hours together. Rick had been over it with me; that I hadn't known what would happen, but that didn't change anything. I still felt like a weight was pressing down on me every time I thought about it. Why was I still alive when my best friends weren't?

Jacob seemed to sense it. I felt his arm tighten around my waist and the other come up to stroke my hair. He turned his head to kiss my forehead.

"Don't say anything." I choked out quickly. "If you do I might not be able to finish."

He nodded, and I swallowed back the tears that threatened to fall. I took a deep breath and went on.

"We all agreed." I continued. "There were five of us. Evan, Anna, Devin, Michael and me. Evan drove us in his car, and I remember sitting on Michael's lap in the backseat, ducking down once we got off the freeway. Evan was the funny one. He made a joke about crossing the border, and how I was the illegal alien they were trying to smuggle over." I smiled a little.

"It was about 5:00 in the morning when we decided to go home. We had been out all night, and we were all exhausted. We had been able to get a few drinks here and there, but I had never really liked the taste of alcohol so I wasn't really buzzed or anything. I offered to drive home. We were a bit far from where we had parked so we started to walk. I had been feeling a little weird all night, like we were being watched, but I didn't think anything of it. I was having fun with my friends."

"Hollywood is like New York and Vegas; it's a city that never sleeps. There are literally people everywhere, all the time. So when we left the little club, there were still people out. But I didn't feel safe. I told Michael this, and he told we not to worry, that everything was fine. That's when I saw them."

My teeth locked, and I clasped my hands together. I suddenly didn't feel sad, or upset. I felt angry. This was a first. Whenever I had thought about this, my heart would freeze and it would take everything I had not to burst into tears.

"There were three of them. A guy and a girl, maybe about twenty, and a boy about our age. The two twenty year olds were both blonde and dressed in black and chains. They were dressed for clubbing. But the other boy was dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans. But that didn't seem to matter, because even dressed like that, I remember thinking how horribly beautiful they all were. They were so beautiful, I thought they might all be related, but then I noticed the boy in the jeans had black hair. He seemed a bit familiar to me, but I couldn't place him at the time."

"We started talking to them, and they seemed nice enough. They invited us to go to another club with them to hang out. Anna really wanted to go. She had always been the diva of our little group, shallow and a bit self-centered. Of course she would want to hang out with these gorgeous people. She thought they might have been movie stars. Devin agreed with her. Evan, Michael and I wanted to go home, but Anna and Devin were both stubborn, and kept pushing us. We didn't want to just leave them stranded in Hollywood, so we went."

I glanced up at Jacob. His eyes were narrowed and his grip on me had tightened.

"Are you alright? It only gets worse from here." I said, looking at him.

He looked back at me with intense eyes. "Tell me everything."

I looked down at my clasped hands, biting at my lips. "We followed them to an ally, and I remember thinking that most clubs didn't really have an entrance in an ally like that. Everything in me kept screaming at me to get away, but I don't know why I went. Probably because I didn't want to ditch my friends."

"They lead us into the ally, the two blondes in front, and other boy in back. I could feel his eyes on my back and it made me nervous. It was a dead end. Very cliché, I remember thinking, I'm going to die in an ally way with a dead end. The two blondes turned to face us, and Anna, idiot that she was, ask where the club was. I don't remember them answering us, because the next thing I knew, I was face down on the ground. I remember hearing a loud crack, and then Anna and Michael were screaming."

I rubbed my hands together, feeling cold. "I remember feeling dazed when I sat up. I broke my nose when I had hit the ground, so there was blood all down my front." I said, reaching up to touch the small bump I had on the top of my nose. "I had hit my head pretty hard, so there was also a cut on my forehead." I brushed my fingers over the spot the small wound had been.

Jacob was shivering very slightly now, and I wrapped my arms around him, leaning against his shoulder again. My stomach felt queasy now, at the thought of all the blood. I closed my eyes tightly.

"When I was finally able to sit up and focus enough to see in the dark, I didn't understand what I was seeing. Devin was already on the ground not moving. He had blood gushing from his head, but I think his death had been the most humane. Anna was being held by the blond male with his face buried in her neck, and she was struggling, making these little whimpering noises. I remember hearing more cracking coming from her. I realize now it was her bones braking as he held her so tightly."

"The blond woman had Evan, and his was the most horrifying, after Michael. His throat had been slit all the way across, and the woman was literally lapping at his throat. His eyes were open. I still wonder if maybe he was still alive during that, that he knew what was happening to him."

Jacob was shaking horribly now, practically making me bounce in his lap, his grip on me tight. I looked up at him. His face was smooth, but his eyes were still narrowed and full of rage.

"Are you okay?" I asked, rubbing his arm. His shaking slowed, but not by much. "Are you shaking because you're mad? I noticed Paul does that a lot."

He took a deep breath through his nose, closing his eyes. "Yeah. It happens when we get angry enough to phase into our wolf form."

I kept rubbing his arm, looking at him. "Do you need to go outside?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No. I have control." He opened his eyes and I was surprised to see they did look calmer. "Will you tell me the rest?"

"Can you handle it?"

He looked at me seriously. "Can you?"

I nodded, suddenly feeling like I could face anything if Jacob could. "Yeah. But it doesn't really get any better from this point."

I took another deep breath, steeling my nerves. "Michael's was the worse. He was against the wall across from me, and his leg was at a weird angle. His jaw must have either been dislocated or broken, because it was jutting out like his leg. I remember feeling sick, looking at it. The last boy was standing over him. He was saying something to him, but I couldn't hear it. There were like, slashes appearing all over Michael's body, and there was so much blood. I didn't realize until then how much blood a human body really holds."

"That was when the blond male dropped Anna, right in front of me. Her eyes were open. Evan's too. All three of them got Michael together, and then the black haired boy literally tore him to pieces."

I closed my eyes, the sights and sounds of that night vivid in my head. I remembered the cracking of bones breaking and flesh tearing. It was a sickening sound, something nobody should ever hear. It made me sick just thinking about it.

I took another deep breath. "I was the last one, obviously. I remember suddenly being held in the air by my shirt, so that my feet barely touched the ground. It was the blonde woman. She was holding me, and I remember grabbing onto her wrist and feeling how hard and cold she was. Her grip was like iron, like I was being held by something made of cold steel. Everything about her was…incredibly strong. I looked into her eyes, seeing how red they were, and she smiled at me. It was a beautiful, terrifying smile. I remember wanting to scream, but I couldn't. It was like her stare had knocked the breath out of me."

"Then the black haired boy spoke. He and the woman started talking, but I don't remember what it was about. I was in shock; it was like cotton had been stuffed in my ears. Everything was muffled and hazy, but clear. I could still see everything. The black haired boy and the woman were arguing about something. I think the boy said my name."

Jacob's grip on me had suddenly become painful, and I looked up at him in alarm. He was shaking so hard now, his shape was almost blurring. He was taking deep breaths, and his face was contorted in rage. I pulled away from him and he let me go.

"Jacob, Jacob." I whispered, rubbing my hands up and down his arms. "Calm down. Please calm down. Please. For me."

It took him a few minutes until he was calm enough to speak. "How…are you…still…" he choked, not being able to finish.

"Alive?" I asked quietly.

He nodded, swallowing thickly and looking at me with a tortured expression. His eyes were wide and wet looking and angry.

I stared at him, not sure I should tell him about the next part, the part when I got my scar. I knew he wouldn't like it. But he needed to know everything. I needed him to know.

"I'm not really sure." I answered. "But there's still more. Maybe we should go outside. I don't think you'll like the next part."

He nodded stiffly, his jaw locked as he let me take his hand and lead him outside. It was drizzling now, but only lightly, the air freezing. It was probably going to start snowing soon.

I walked into the woods behind the Black's house, far enough in were no body could see us. Jacob pushed me down onto a large tree stump.

"Sit right here. Promise me you wouldn't move." He said.

I nodded, and he jogged a few feet away from me, sitting down on the wet earth and crossing his legs. He looked at me expectantly, still lightly shaking.

"Are you ready?" I asked and he nodded.

"So," I paused, thinking about where I had left off. "Then they started fighting. The boy said he wanted me, but the women wouldn't let him. The other boy only spoke once, agreeing with the woman. The black haired boy got angry, really angry. I'm not really sure what happened next, because the next thing I knew was that I was on the ground and the woman was screaming and cursing at him. The other boy was making this hissing noise. I was able to turn my head and I saw that somehow, the woman had lost her right hand, the one she had been holding me with. It was lying on the ground next to me, near my face. That's when the sun started coming into the ally. It fell on all of them, and I remember gasping and then the ripping pain I felt on my chest afterward. But that didn't seem to matter, because their skin was sparkling. Like prisms throwing rainbows. Even then, I remember thinking they were beautiful. I'm not really sure what happened next, because I must have passed out. I woke up to someone screaming about calling the police."

"The paramedics took me to the hospital. I had a few broken ribs, which I didn't even realize until I felt them. I had a concussion from when I had hit the ground the first time, but that wasn't the worse of my injuries."

I looked up at Jacob again, watching him. He was shaking again, just as hard as before. His eyes were practically red with anger, but I wasn't scared. "Tell me." He breathed.

I nodded, but I didn't say a word. Instead I stood up and took off my coat. Jacob watched me with curious, rage filled eyes. I took hold of the hem of my shirt, preparing to pull it up.

"Don't think I'm trying to flash you." I said seriously, and then I pulled my shirt off.

Stretching from the top of my left breast, all the way down to the bottom of my ribs on the right side of my body, was a thick white scar. It stood out in contrast to the color of my skin, and it went diagonally across my torso, centered perfectly between my breasts, right over my heart.

"I don't know how I got it, but the doctors said I was lucky to be alive after an injury like this. They said it was done with a lot of force. They said I was lucky it didn't crack my chest open and cut into my heart." I said, looking at the shaking, rage filled boy in front of me.

And then Jacob exploded in a burst of fur and ripping flesh. He took off in a blur, leaving me standing there with a pile of shredded jeans, a pounding heart and watery eyes.

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><p><strong>At that same moment, 15 miles away in Forks<strong>

It was cold today, but Renesmee didn't feel it. Her momma always made sure that whenever she went out these last few days, she had her favorite fur coat on.

Today she was out with Aunt Rosalie and Uncle Emmett, exploring and occasionally hunting. She wasn't feeling particularly hungry, so her aunt and uncle had made her promise to stay in one spot. She wondered around her little field, feeling bored, until she caught sight of a patch of flowers that hadn't yet died from the cold. They were just out of sight of the field, but she didn't think her aunt and uncle would get mad if she went to pick them. They were small and white, and she knew her momma and Grandma Esme would like them.

She trotted over, feeling her long hair bounce against her back. She kneelt down and began picking them, not paying attention to her surroundings.

"Hello little one."

Renesmee jumped up, dropping her flowers in surprise. Standing still as stone only a few feet from her was a man. He was blonde and dressed in pretty clothes, like the kind she had seen in movies were people go to partys. He was tall, and kind of reminded her of her Uncle Jasper. But Uncle Jasper smiled at her and had good eyes. This man was looking at her with a blank face, with cold and emotionless eyes. His eyes were a dark red, and Renesmee knew what that meant.

The man tilted his head slightly as he looked at her. "You're scent is very odd. Almost… half-human."

Renesmee swallowed, feeling scared. This man scared her. She wished her daddy or Uncle Emmett was there with her.

"Tell me, little one. Do you have a family nearby?" he asked emotionlessly.

Renesmee nodded, hoping that the fact that her family was close might make him leave her alone. She took a step back slowly, but the man didn't make any reaction. However, she had a feeling he was aware of every move she was making.

"I see. Vampires then." He muttered, seeming to stare off into space. Renesmee shivered at his blank face.

Then he was gone. Renesmee was sure she hadn't blinked. She was always able to follow whenever one of her aunts or uncles, or even her momma and daddy ran, but she hadn't seen that man move at all. He was just…gone. Like he hadn't even been there.

She turned around and tore back toward her home, hoping Aunt Rosalie and Uncle Emmett wouldn't be too worried when they came back and found she wasn't there. She wanted her momma and daddy. And maybe some of that cake Grandma Esme had made for her that morning.

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><p><strong>These past few days have been spent vegging out in front of the TV, watching Comedy Central and Youtube, as well as on here reading really bad Harry Potter fanfiction. Our other (younger) cat seems depressed, and when we found out the older cat was dying my mom was bawling so much you would have thought it was me, her own daughter, who was dying and not the cat. It's amazing how attached people can get to animals.<strong>

**But I do hope you enjoyed this chap, and hopefully the next one will be up soon. School starts for me this Saturday (Urg, a Saturday class), but I'll still try to update as often as I can.**

**Thanks again to everyone, wither you sent me good wishes or not. You are so awesome.**

**In the next chapter Jacob will tell Gwen about imprinting...**


	13. Imprint

**Hello my faithful readers! I apologize for the late update, but school started and I was trying to get my bearings. Still am, but I wanted to write this for you. Gwen and Jacob are going to be going on a rollercoaster of emotion in the coming chapters, so I hope this one doesn't seem too sappy or OOC.**

**By the way, has anyone seen the new Underworld movie? I did, and all I can say about it was: BADASS. I'm sorry but the Cullen's and the pack wouldn't stand a chance if Selene wanted them dead.**

**Also, there's an important authors note at the end of the chapter, so I would appreciate it if you guys would read it and then give me your input. Thanks guys!**

**Disclaimer: Twilight does not belong to me. I don't even want it, really.**

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><p>"<em>You may only be someone in the world, but to someone else, you may be the world"-unknown<em>

"_I've lived a long time. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that fate doesn't decide everything. People can choose."-Hancock_

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><p>After Jacob had taken off I had pulled my shirt back on and trudged back into the house and into his room. I found a pair of clean sweat pants and left them on the small dry patch on his back porch. Then I made myself a strong cup of tea (which Billy only kept there for me. He and Jacob only ever drank coffee.) and sat on the couch, staring into space.<p>

I felt…strangely blank. I didn't feel mad or upset or even better, knowing that I had shared my story with Jacob. I didn't feel exactly empty, but I didn't feel anything else either. Maybe calmness was what I was feeling. I just sat there in the quiet, sipping my tea and listening to the rain as I waited for Jacob to come back.

He must have been upset, the way he exploded like that. It had happed so quickly, his skin bursting with reddish colored fur in a hazy blur. If I had blinked I would have defiantly missed it. Replaying the image over and over in my head made my heart pound. I decided I didn't like seeing him change. The sound and sight of him bursting out of his skin like that was just…too much. Him turning into a wolf I could handle, seeing it was completely different. I guess it was like the vampires; I could handle knowing they existed; I just didn't want to see them.

It was two hours before Jacob came back. I was lying face up on the couch, dozing when I heard the back screen door swing open and shut. I saw him a second later as he peered over the couch arm to look at my face.

His hair was sopping wet, little beads of rain running down his chest. His face was smooth, but I saw the way his lips were slightly twisted in a grimace, pulled down at the corners. His eyes were torched. I reached up and touched his cheek with just the tips of my fingers, looking up at him upside down.

"Are you alright?" I asked quietly.

He took my hand and pressed in against his cheek, leaning his face against it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Yeah. I'm sorry I was gone so long. The guys had to run me down."

"Run you down?"

He nodded. "When we get angry like that we can't control when we phase. If I stayed with you I was afraid I would hurt you. I'm better at controlling it these days but," Here he shook his head, his grimace becoming more pronounced. "The guys heard what happened in my head and they had to run with me for a while."

I frowned, puzzled. "They heard what happened…in your head?"

He opened his eyes and looked down at me. Without releasing my hand he walked around so he was facing me right side up. He kneeled down so we were face to face and leaned one of his arms next to mine.

"It's a wolf thing. We can…uh…sort of hear each other's thoughts." He said, looking slightly uncomfortable. "But only in wolf form. It can get kind of embarrassing, especially if you have something you don't want everyone to know about."

I felt my eyes widen. "So they all know?"

"Only Seth, Leah, Sam and Jared." When I just stared at him he seemed to realize something was wrong. His face turned apologetic. "I'm sorry, Gwen. I couldn't help it. I'm so sorry."

I turned away with a sigh. I didn't know why I didn't want anyone to know. I guess it was because so many people back home had thought I was just a poor girl suffering the effects of seeing her friends murdered in front of her. They pitied me, thought I had gone crazy or that I was lying. When I was question by the police, they didn't believe me. Part of it was because they couldn't find any clues to the murders, any leads. But it made sense to me. Of course vampires wouldn't leave any physical evidence of their existence behind. Nothing but the bodies; which actually, I had found out later, still had quite a bit of blood left in them. And me, a girl who would be dubbed weird or insane for claiming she saw them.

I shook my head. "I guess it doesn't matter. They would have probably found out sooner or later." At least I knew the pack would believe me.

I felt Jacob rub my hand soothingly. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's not your fault." I said, looking back at him.

He had both his elbows perched on the front of the couch, sort of hunched over me, kneeling.

"Is that it?" I asked. "Is that everything about being a wolf?"

His eyes darted away from me, looking suddenly nervous and unsure. "No. There is something else. Something important."

"What is it?" I asked, steeling my nerves for whatever he was about to dish out.

He took a deep breath with his eyes closed, then turned to look at me. He seemed serious, but still slightly unsure. "Have you ever heard of imprinting?"

I frowned. "You mean like what ducks do? Like when they come out of the egg and think the first one they see is their mother?"

Jacob's lips twisted up into an amused smile. "Sort of. But it's way different than what ducks do."

"So what is it?" I asked.

He licked his lips and his eyes darted away from me again. I felt my heart pick up speed at his nervousness. It was affecting me now too. "What is it Jacob? Just tell me really fast, like pulling off a band-aid." I said, dying to know what he was so jittery about, but unsure of it myself.

His mouth twisted up again. "This isn't something I can just blurt out. It's really important and will affect both of our lives."

"Okay, now I'm scared." I said, sitting up so now I was almost level with him. "What is it?"

"We imprint…to find our mates." He looked down at the couch cushions, looking ashamed. "When we see her it looks like she's glowing, like the sun isn't where the light and warmth comes from. It comes from her." He explained quietly.

"Everything we thought was important, our families, our jobs, even our pack, take a back seat once we find our imprint. Once we imprint the only thing that matters in the whole world is her. It's like all those strings connecting us to other people get cut off and one iron thread connects us to her. We become whatever she wants us to be; a friend, a lover, a brother, anything. From the moment we see her, she becomes the only thing we live for. Or would die for. From that moment on, she's our whole world."

I stared down at the top of his head, feeling stunned. "So it's like…love at first sight?" I asked hesitantly. It sounded too intense to just describe _that_ as love.

Jacob shook his head, still not looking at me. "Sort of, but not really. It is love, but it depends on the imprint. For Sam, Jared and Paul it was love. For Quil it was love, but the brotherly type. It was the same for me. It was love but I knew that's not what she needed or wanted. She needed a friend she could talk too and who would always be there, and that's what I was. But it doesn't mean I didn't want to be with her the way Sam or Jared or Paul are with their imprints. I was being what she wanted."

I felt like my heart was stopping, but I could clearly feel it beating in my chest. The images of Sam and Emily and Jared and Kim briefly flashed through my head. Sam and Emily were so intense with the way they looked at each other I often had to look away. Jared and Kim were the same way, but more discreet about it. I didn't know much about Paul's girlfriend, Jacob's sister, or Quil's, but I would bet money it was the same with them.

And Jacob. Jacob had just said he had imprinted. He had said it happened when they find their mates. Their _mates_. Jacob had a _mate_?

"S-so," I stuttered, feeling a horrible pain in my chest, like someone had just punched me there. Hard. I also felt that familiar spark of anger, but the other pain sort of numbed it. "You have a mate?"

Jacob looked up at me in alarm as the last word left my lips as a high pitched shriek. I glared down at him angrily, feeling my throat constrict as I struggled to hold back tears.

"You have a mate and you didn't tell me?" I exclaimed. "How the hell could you do that? What, you think leading me on like this was some sort of game? You sick bastard, how could you do that!"

If I had been thinking coherently I would have wondered why I was acting the way I was. Jacob and I were clearly never a couple. He never made any moves on me. But he held my hand or hugged me when I was upset, and he worried over me like no one I had ever met. He was always there when I needed him.

Somehow, someway, at some point, I had begun to really love Jacob. And not in just a friendly way. It was an intense feeling in my chest that I had never felt before, and now that I knew he had some else, I hated it.

I sat there on the couch, glaring down at him in hot anger and pain, with tears pouring down my face like a little girl who didn't get what she wanted. But at the moment I could have cared less. Not only was I upset and angry, but I felt betrayed. I had never consciously given my heart to Jacob, yet somehow, he had it.

Jacob himself sat on his knees in front of me, his eyes wide and shocked, mouth slightly open. But then his whole demeanor changed. His mouth closed and his eyes became soft, gazing at me in love and sadness. It made me angrier.

Before I could jump up and run out of the house, Jacob's hot hands where cradling my face, wiping away my tears with his thumbs. I opened my mouth to tell him not to touch me, but then his lips were on mine and I couldn't.

All coherent thought flew out the window. It was like that flame of anger in my chest had been drowned in luke warm water, because that was the feeling that was spreading there now. A luke warm, drowning feeling spread through my veins and arteries, comforting and soothing and…happy. It felt like every nerve ending I had was humming in happiness.

I sat, frozen and stunned as Jacob placed hot and tender kisses on my mouth. They were soft and innocent, much like the one I had given him at the airport. I wanted so badly to respond to them, to kiss him like he was kissing me, but I couldn't. He had a mate.

Finally, after what seemed like a few minutes, he pulled away so he could look into my eyes. His eyes hadn't changed from that loving, sad look. "It's you Gwen. I imprinted on you." He said gently.

I stared at him, feeling my mouth open slightly. I drew in deep breaths, filling my lungs as I realized I hadn't been breathing while Jacob kissed me. Me? I was Jacob's mate?

An intense feeling of embarrassment washed over me as the happiness in my limbs faded away. I sniffled, looking down at the couch cushions under me. I couldn't look Jacob in the eyes. Unfortunately he was still cupping my face, and he shifted slightly so I had no choice but to look at him.

"Gwen?"

I don't know what kind of reaction he wanted from me, and it took me a minute to find my voice. All sorts of things started swirling around my head all at once. I didn't know what to ask first.

"What does that mean? Did you choose me? What's…I mean…" I spoke in a sort of broken snifflie voice that I hated. But I couldn't help it. Jacob was right; this really did affect our lives. I could feel it, and it was terrifying. If was funny how I was reacting like this, now that he told me I was the one. A minute ago I had been angry and hurt that I wasn't. Now I was just scared. I felt like such a hypocrite.

Jacob released me and slowly sat back on his hunches, watched me sadly. "It happened the first time I saw you; at the bonfire. As soon as I looked into your eyes it was like everything shifted and the only thing I could see was you." He said intensely, quietly.

"So it's…involuntary? You can't control it?" I asked, looking down at my lap and feeling ashamed of how I was acting.

"No." Jacob answered gravely.

That pain in my chest was back full force. He couldn't control it. Did that mean he didn't really choose me? Did he not want me? I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. Jacob seemed to sense something was wrong, because he leaned toward me again, placing one hand over both of mine.

"But Gwen, that doesn't mean anything." He said quickly. It almost sounded like he was pleading. "Even without the imprint, I would have still wanted you. You're…amazing. You're everything I want. You do reckless things that make me feel like I'm having a heart attack every once in a while, but you understand me in a way Bella never could. You're fiery and brave and you make me laugh. You like to hang out with the guys and have fun. You're never selfish. You're smarter than me and you always listen to what I have to say. Billy and the guys and their imprints all love you._ I_ love you Gwen. Even without the imprint, please please believe that." He pleaded, squeezing my hand firmly.

I wanted to deny everything he had just said. I wanted to yell at him and call him a liar and say that it was just the imprint talking that made him feel that way and that I didn't want him if he really didn't want me. But another part of me, that stupid, foolish, spit of a romantic teenage girl in me wanted to believe him. She and that other part, the logical part, where doing epic battle in my head. And the teenage girl was winning. I could see her now, beating logic back with a baseball bat and a catcher's mask on.

"But it's like…" I paused, gathering my scattered thoughts. "Do we even have a choice? Was there any choice to beginning with?"

I felt Jacob freeze next to me, his hand still on both of mine.

"I…I've thought about that a lot. About a year ago I was wondering the exact same thing. But if there's one thing I've learned from everything that went down with Bella, and even with the others and their imprints, it's that humans have a choice. You're human, Gwen. If you don't"- here he took in a strangled breath-"want me… then I'm not going to force you to be with me."

I had a choice. It still didn't make up for the fact that Jacob didn't seem to, but I tried to focus on what he just said about wanting me even without the imprint.

There were a lot of things I still wanted to do. I wanted to eventually go to college, travel to Greece and France and Italy and stuff myself with all sorts of different foods. I wanted to maybe write a book someday, and had flirted briefly with the idea of going sky diving. Could I do all those things, knowing Jacob was here in La Push, pinning after me as I lived my life?

But what if he didn't have too? I wanted to be with him, I was sure of it now. He wasn't physically tied down to La Push. He could come with me and we could do all those things together. He would like stuffing his face in Italy. I didn't know how he felt about college or sky diving (actually I suspected I already knew how he would feel about me doing that), but we would cross that road when we got to it.

"I do want to be with you Jacob." I said, still staring down at me hands. "But there's so much I still want to do in my life. I never really thought about kids and a family and…being a werewolves mate."

Jacob was silent, unmoving. I could feel how tense he was; almost feel his emotions in the air, without looking at him at all. When I finally did look up at him, the look on his face was horrible.

He looked like any moment he might fall over and just curl into a ball and die. His face was crumpled in a look of such despair and pain I felt my heart clench and my eyes moisten. Did the imprint affect me too? If it did I was feeling it full force.

I don't think I really thought about anything in that moment. All I knew was that my arms wrapped around his neck and suddenly I was kissing him. That look didn't belong on his face and I knew somehow, it needed to go away.

Jacob's arms wrapped around me, one hand tangling in my hair and holding me to him. His mouth was soft and warm against mine, and as corny and cliché as it sounded, it was intense and passionate and wonderful. I had never kissed anyone the way I was kissing Jacob. Not that I had kissed a lot of boys, but this was more intense than any other kiss I had had.

Finally we separated and just stared at each other. "I want you Jacob. I really do. And one day when I get ready to do everything I want to do, will you come with me?"

He blinked at me, seeming surprised. "I would go anywhere with you Gwen. You know that."

I couldn't help the grin that threatened to pull at the corners of my mouth. "Would you come to France with me? Or Spain? Or Italy?"

He looked at me in surprise. "If that's where you want to go. Italy's the home of pizza and pasta, so I think I would like it there." He smiled goofily.

I pulled away from him slightly, his hands still gripping my sides and my arms resting on his shoulders. I laughed, feeling suddenly giddy. A few months ago I would have been disgusted with myself at the way I was acting, but like I said before, I didn't care.

"So," Jacob said slowly, "You're okay with this? You understand what this really means, right?"

"I think so." I said. "It means we are expected to be together. Like, be mates. Together." I said, blinking as it seemed to sink in now that I was thinking straighter.

It seemed like saying it out loud was making it more real. Jacob and I were expected to be together. To get married and have little baby werewolves. Thinking about it was…terrifying. Almost more terrifying than vampires, because this wasn't some scary monster in front of me, this was _my_ _life_ being laid out for me. But Jacob had said I had a choice. I didn't have to be with him if I didn't want to be. If I choose not to be, would I feel guilty about it? How would Jacob feel? He didn't have a choice, no matter how much he claimed otherwise. That was going to eat away at me, I just knew it.

But I did want to be with him. Right now, at this moment, I wanted him more than anything else I had ever wanted. Was that okay? Was it selfish of me to disregard his wants because of me? He claimed he wanted to be with me, imprint be damned, but did he really? How could I believe him?

Jacob watched me patiently, but I could see in his eyes how much he wanted me to say something.

I trusted Jacob; there was no doubt about that. Could I trust that he really wanted me? He wanted me now, with the imprint but…is that all that mattered? It didn't seem right.

"It's…" I hesitated, "Hard to think about. I've got all these doubts in my head, and it's just…" I trailed off, unsure of what I was saying.

Jacob squeezed my sides. "I know it's hard to understand. But I know I would have felt the same way I do now, even if we didn't have the imprint. I'm sure of it."

"Even though you still loved Bella?" I asked, feeling my heart squeeze at her name.

"Yeah. I went to see her a few days after I imprinted on you. And when I saw her, it was like my head was finally clear. I still care about her, about as much as I can care about a leech, but it feels like I care about her the right way now. Like a friend." He explained.

I shook my head. It was still going to take more convincing to make the doubts about him imprinting on me go away. I loved and trusted Jacob, but he was biased. It would have to take a lot more than just his words to convince me.

"I'm not going to say that I don't want to be with you, because I do. It's just that how can I know its true? I don't want you to want me because some mystic power says you have to. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it." I said, rubbing my forehead.

Jacob shook his head. "No, I get it." Then he smiled. "I guess I'll just have to convince you."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "How? You're biased. Anything that comes out of your mouth won't convince me."

He grimaced. "Ouch. That hurt."

"Sorry. But I'm not going to lie to you. Honesty is best in any relationship." I smiled slightly.

"Yeah, I guess it is." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Man, this isn't how I was expecting it to turn out. You really keep me on my toes, you know that?"

"Is that a good or bad thing?"

"I'm not really sure. Both?"

I sighed, feeling exhausted. Today had just been one emotional up and down after another. I flopped onto the couch on my side, Jacob's eyes on me. "Can I lay down with you?"

"If you want. It's your couch." I said, closing my eyes.

I felt him crawl over me, scooping me up slightly as he did so I was wrapped in his arms. I leaned my forehead against his chest, sighing. I felt him nuzzle his nose into my hair, his fingers tracing my still injured arm.

We laid there together for about an hour before the phone rang. I was dozing, trying to get to sleep so I could just forget all my doubts, but was instantly snapped back to reality. Jacob swore softly and carefully unwound his arms from around me so I felt the coldness engulf me. I curled up into a ball to conserve heat as he picked up the phone, my back to him.

"Hello?" He growled. I bit back a smile. Apparently he was as comfortable as I had been. "Oh. Hey Sam."

I could hear Sam's deep voice through the phone, but couldn't make out individual words. I heard Jacob suck in a breath, which made me turn around to look at him. His eyes were narrowed. "What?"

Sam's voice filtered through the phone again, and whatever he had been saying caused Jacob to start shivering slightly. "Alright, fine. I'll be there soon."

He hung up and turned to me, his mouth set in a thin line. I sat up, fully alert. "What? What did Sam say?" I asked.

"Nessie had an encounter with another bloodsucker. One we or the Cullen's don't know."

I felt my chest constrict. "What?"

"It was a couple of hours ago, and the Cullen's have been looking around Forks for it, but haven't found anything. We're going to go have a talk with them." He said, his eyes narrowing into space.

I took a deep breath, steadying my nerves. "You said that vampires can't come into La Push." I stated.

"Only because we protect it. The Cullen's can't come in because of the treaty, but other vamps don't have that kind of restraint." He explained.

"You realize you're really scaring me here." I said, feeling my heart pound.

He came over to me, placing his hands on my arms so I was held in place. "I'm sorry. But I want you to know how it works. But you don't have to worry. No vamp has ever got into La Push and they won't start now." He said with determimation.

A sharp howl suddenly erupted across from the house, making me jump. Jacob's thumbs rubbed up and down on my arms. "It's just Brady and Collin. We're leaving them behind while we go meet the Cullen's. Don't worry; I'll be back in a few minutes."

He pressed a kiss to my lips and then jogged out the front door, his eyes glancing at the lock as he closed it behind him.

As soon as he was gone I got up and double checked that everything was locked. Then I went into Jacob's room and curled up in his closet, burying my head in my hands. What was going on around here?

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><p><strong>There it is. Chapter thirteen. I hope it wasn't too sappy for you guys, because I feel like it was Mary-Sue and OOC. But you guys be the judge. It also seems like Gwen is going to have a lot of doubts with her new relationship with Jacob. We'll see how that goes.<strong>

**As for my important note: I was thinking about my next story. I was thinking a two-shot for all you JacobxGwen fans. It would take place a few years after this one, and would be about Gwen getting pregnant. Which means I was thinking about doing a…um…lemon. I don't plan on writing one in this story, so maybe…However it would depend on how you all feel about it. I personally have nothing against lemons (except the really dirty ones. I mean really, there are young kids on this site!) but I've never written one. I don't have much experience in that area, so I want you guys to tell me how you feel about it. I would like to do something with Gwen getting prego, but lemons…I don't know. I'm not really sure. So I need you to tell me.**

**And as for my kitty, she's still hanging on, but doing pretty badly. I have a feeling we're going to have no choice but to put her down. It's going to be hard, especially now that school has started again, so updates might be slow. But I want to thank everyone who sends me PM's telling me how much you love this story, as well as those who favorite and alert. Thanks to you all!**

**In the next chapter it's finally Halloween, and we all know what kind of real monsters are lurking in the dark…**

**Reviews please!**


	14. Threat

**My kitty cat finally passed away. The last time I saw her alive was when I pulled her up onto my bed to sleep with me and Mojo (our other cat). I remember waking up in the middle of the night and feeling her jump off and move around on the floor, and then hearing her leave my room. I went back to sleep. My grandmother came over early that morning to help my mom with something and found her, gone in her own bed. I was just getting up when my mother broke the news to me. I shed a few tears and was sad, but we were all prepared for it. My mom wrapped her up in her blanket, and we are planning to cremate her. I just wanted to thank everyone for being so supportive during this time. You guys are just incredible. I'm very grateful for all your support.**

**RIP Iris, my best and longtime companion. Passed away January 28, 2012. I hope you are happy assassinating birds up in heaven. You will be loved and greatly missed.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

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><p>"<em>If your heart was broken you'd be dead, so shut up"-<em>unknown

"_Expect problems and eat them for breakfast"-_Alfred A. Montapert

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><p>It had been three days since Jacob and the rest of the pack went to talk with the Cullen's. Apparently there wasn't much to go on. Nessie, Bella and Edward's daughter, Jacob had told me, had had a brief meeting with a tall blond vampire in the woods. Both sides were furious, both for different reasons. The Cullen's, mostly Bella and Edward, were upset because an unknown vampire had come so close to Nessie. He hadn't done anything to her, but they were her parents, so of course they were upset. The pack was upset because it had come so close to La Push.<p>

Nobody knew for sure what he had wanted. The Cullen's thought it might be because he was curious that there was such a big coven living together in one place. That was until Jacob had told them about my theory. That there was more than just one, there were three, and that they were after me.

From then on everyone was tense. I guess the Cullen's said they would continue keeping an eye on Forks, while the pack stayed in La Push. Jacob was with me constantly, and if he wasn't I was either at his house or Emily's. There was always someone from the pack near me.

Today was Halloween, and I was at Emily's, along with Quil, Seth, Leah and Kim. Everyone else was out patrolling. Halloween was hard on the pack. La Push constantly needed to be patrolled, but it was hard to do with every kid and teenager in both Forks and La Push coming in and out for candy. A lot of them liked to act like idiots in the woods, so the pack had to be extra careful, especially this year.

Emily was busy baking something in the kitchen with Kim, while Seth, Quil, and I sat on the couch watching some Disney sing along movie. A small toddler, age three, stood in front of the TV, bouncing up and down on her chubby little legs, trying to dance to the music. She sang under her voice clumsily, not quite able to form the whole words. She was dressed up as Tinker Bell, waving her little wand all over the place.

Claire, Quil's imprint, was the cutest little girl I think I had ever seen. She was small and a little chubby, with full apple cheeks and the Quileute black hair that, at the moment, was piled on her head in a curly bun. Her smile was wide and dimply, and everything about her just screamed "I'm cute and you will give me everything I want."

When she was introduced to me that night as Quil's imprint, I was a bit weirded out by it. Jacob had explained to me that the relationship was whatever the imprint needed at the time, and at this time Claire needed a big brother. So that's what Quil was; big brother, protector, and babysitter, all rolled into one. Both he and Claire seemed to like it, plus it seemed to suite Quil's personality somehow, so it worked out.

I sat between Seth and Quil, feeling the heat coming off both of them. Unlike Jacob's warm heat, theirs was stifling, and I could feel myself getting slightly sticky with sweat. A song from Mulan came on and I watched with amusement as Quil smiled at Claire's dancing. I reached over and grabbed a fistful of popcorn from the bowl Seth had in his lap.

"So what's your favorite song, Gwen?" Seth asked, stuffing his mouth full of popcorn.

"Kiss the Girl by Colbie Calat." I said popping a piece of popcorn in my mouth.

Quil turned to look at me. "Isn't that from The Little Mermaid?" he asked.

I looked at him and grinned. "Yep. Is that you're favorite movie too?"

Quil blushed slightly with a wry smile and turned back to watch Claire. The pack hadn't really mentioned whatever Jacob had told them about the incident. They only swore up and down that they would tear them to pieces for me once they found them, and Seth gave me a hug so tight Jacob had had to pull him off me. Other than that, they didn't mention it, for which I was very grateful.

The girls, however, were a little different. Emily and Kim had given me comforting hugs and promised that I could talk to them about it whenever I wanted. Kim had even got a little teary. I knew she was more sensitive than most, but it still bothered me. I didn't want to talk about it at all and told her so. They both left me alone after that.

As a Winnie the Pooh song started to play, I pulled myself out from between Quil and Seth, sighing when I felt the cool air touch my skin. I stretched and looked back at them.

"I'm going to go outside, okay?" I said.

Seth and Quil glanced at each other wearily. The last three days I hadn't been aloud outside without a pack member with me. It was annoying, but Jacob had been very firm about it. I tried to talk him out of it, tell him I didn't need a bodyguard, but he wouldn't listen. He had actually gone so far as to give out an alpha command (he had told me he was alpha over Quil, Seth, Embry and Leah) that I wasn't allowed to be alone until they knew exactly what was going on and took care of it.

Seth stood up, holding the bowl of popcorn in the crook of one arm. He stretched, curving his back and reaching his other arm out. "I'll come sit with you." He offered.

"No, it's okay." I said, shaking my head. "Leah's out there. I'll be alright."

The two wolves glanced at each other again. Leah and I didn't exactly talk. We only ever acknowledged each other with a greeting and that was it. I think it was our personalities; they clashed too much. Leah was unfriendly and liked to say horrible things, while I tended to have a big mouth and shoot back at anything that might have been considered an insult. We both acknowledged this, so we tended not to talk.

However, I was tired of sitting with these two boys. Not that I didn't love them, I did, it's just that Seth didn't know when to shut up and I didn't want to take Quil away from Claire. If I was with Leah I knew there wouldn't be any conversation. I needed silence for a little bit.

"I'll be fine. It's Leah." I said with a shrug. "Besides, she's only sitting right outside the door. It'll be fine."

Without waiting for a replay, I walked outside into the cold air, grabbing my coat and shrugging it on as I did.

It had finally started to snow, and Leah sat outside in only a tank top and shorts. It made me wish I had the pack's 108 temperature. She sat on Emily's front steps, a huge bowl of candy in her lap. I had been surprised when I had heard her volunteer to sit outside and handout candy. It didn't seem like something bitchy Leah would offer to do.

I sat down beside her as I watched a group of kids in costumes with coats pulled over them approach.

"Trick or treat!" they greeted with huge smiles, holding out their pillow cases.

There were four of them, the three oldest between the ages of eight and twelve. The youngest was about six and when he smiled I saw he was missing a tooth. I watched with surprise as Leah actually smiled at them, giving each of them healthy amounts of candy.

Once they left Leah's smile dropped. I simply stared at her in surprise, my eyebrows raised. She turned to scowl at me. "What?" she snapped.

I frowned. "Nothing. I'm just surprised. You don't seem like the type to like kids."

She rolled her eyes, turning back to gaze out at the dark woods around Emily's front yard. "Don't be stupid. Their just kids; I'm not going to be a dick to them."

"Huh." I huffed, trying not to snap at her for calling me stupid. "But it's okay to be a dick to everyone else?" I asked.

"That's right. You got a problem with that, Willows?" she asked, looking at me with a glare.

"Why are you like that? I mean, seriously?" I asked, feeling mad and confused. "Is it because of Sam and Emily?" I asked.

I watched as her mouth thinned out into a narrow line, her eyes narrowing at me. She wasn't shivering, but I could tell she was pissed. Then she turned away from me, glaring into the forest.

"I'm going to rip Jake's tongue out." She growled.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that." I said, watching her out of the corner of my eye.

She took a deep breath through her nose and let it out through her mouth. "Of course you would."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, a few more groups of kids coming up for candy every once in a while, until Leah spoke up again. "He really loves you, you know."

I turned to look at her. She was looking out into the darkness, a look of calm over her face, her eyes lidded. I blinked. "What?"

She rolled her eyes again. "God, I thought you were smart, Willows. Jacob. He really loves you."

I turned away from her, feeling my lips turn down in annoyance. I looked out into the lightly falling snow. "It's only the imprint."

Leah shook her head. "No. The imprint only points out whose best for us. We can choose to act on it or not." She said.

I turned to look at her, puzzled. "Jacob said it was involuntary, that you have no choice on who you imprint on."

She turned to look at me. Her eyes were sad and bitter. "That's true. And it's hard to deny it. But we can, if we want too."

"I don't understand. What are you talking about?" I demanded.

Leah sighed, placing the bowl of candy on the steps next to her. She crossed her arms over her knees, looking down at her bare feet.

"You know about me and Sam. But did Jake also tell you that Sam tried to fight the imprint for me?" she asked.

I shook my head, eyes wide. Jacob hadn't mentioned anything like that. He had just told me that Sam had been with Leah until he met her cousin, Emily. But he hadn't given me any details.

"Yeah, well, he did. I didn't know about it until I had changed of course, but I knew how he felt about Emily after meeting her. They both tried to deny it, but I could tell how miserable it made Sam to not be with her. He tried to avoid her, but back then I spent a lot of time with Emily, so he would come along and try to focus on me. But he eventually fell in love with her and her with him."

She sighed, looking up at me. "The imprint tells us who we're meant to be with and draws us to them, but it doesn't make us fall in love with them. It's only once we spend time with the imprint that our feelings start to change." She explained. "Look at Quil and Claire. He cares about the kid, but he's not in love with her. Maybe once she grows up and develops a personality it'll happen. It was the same with you and Jake. He cared about you, but he didn't really love you until he got to know you."

She looked back out at the snow. "Maybe if I hadn't spent so much time with Em back then Sam wouldn't be with her now." She mused.

"J-Jacob told me that he did want to be with me while we were just friends." I said quietly, so shocked I actually stuttered.

Leah sucked her teeth in a disbelieving sound, turning back to give me a flat look. "Jake's a moron. Even now, he still doesn't really grasp the imprint. He knew it was love, but he didn't realize what kind. He was still on the rebound from that Swan bitch when he met you. But I saw in his head, and I knew what it was."

I stared at her in disbelief. I always knew Leah was bitter about the Sam and Emily imprint thing, but who knew she had actually thought it out this much? The way she just flung all this at me without hesitation was shocking. Leah was probably the most perceptive of the whole pack.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked her. "I mean we're not exactly BFF's."

She snorted. "No. But I saw that conversation you and Jacob had about imprinting, and I thought I'd clear up those doubts for you. Jake deserves to be happy after what Swan did to him. And as much as I don't want to know you, I'd rather you be with him than that whiny twat Swan. At least you don't hide behind us like she did."

I simply stared at her. I had no idea what to say. So Jacob really did love me? Without the imprint? I felt like my heart was about to explode.

Leah watched me as a goofy grin spread across my face. She frowned and rolled her eyes, turning back to look at the woods. "God, now you're going to get all sappy on me. I should have kept my mouth shut." She grumbled in annoyance.

I ignored her, feeling excitement in my chest. Jacob loved me! I had to really contain myself from jumping into the snow and twirl around and shriek like a little girl.

"Thank you Leah." I grinned, watching as a few more kids arrived.

Leah grumbled, picking up the candy bowl. "Just don't make a big deal out of it. And you assholes better keep your mouth shut about this!" She turned and yelled into the house.

"Sure thing, sis!" Seth called back.

"I always knew you had a big heart, Leah!" Quil called, laughing.

"Fuck you!" Leah yelled, causing the group of kids to hesitate in their approach. I smiled at them, trying to ease their fear.

"Hey! No cursing in front of Claire! She could absorb it!" Quil yelled back scoldingly.

Leah turned back outside, growling. But it ceased once the children approached, hesitantly holding out their bags. Leah gave them a few handfuls with a smile, and they trotted away happily.

"You really like kids, don't you Leah?" I said, leaning my cheek on my hand, peering up at the sky.

She went abruptly silent, causing me to look at her. Her face was sad and bitter again. Her eyes were narrowed and she glared up at the sky, like she was wishing death on someone. It was so fierce it made me scoot away from her.

"Leah?" I asked hesitantly, not wanting to set her off.

"I can't have them." She whispered angrily.

I blinked, feeling a new emotion flow through me. Embarrassment? Horror? Pity? "You…can't have…kids?" I asked, feeling like an absolute asshole.

She shook her head stiffly. "Once I started changing," she hesitated, "I stopped getting my monthlies." She whispered in bitterness.

I stared at her in horror and embarrassment. Leah wasn't that much older than I was. As an eighteen year old girl, the thought of a family never crossed my mind. But the option was always there, in the back of my head. I could have that if I wanted one day. I had the option to choose if I wanted that or not. Leah didn't.

Leah looked at me, still glaring angrily. "Don't look at me like that, Willows. I'm not telling you this so you can pity me. I'm telling you so that you appreciate what you have. You have Jake and you can have a family with him. I don't have any of it. So you should consider yourself lucky."

"Did you share all this with Kim too?" I asked quietly.

"Kim's to shy and scared of me to have a conversation with. And she's with Jared, so it doesn't matter. If you weren't with Jacob I wouldn't be talking to you." She snapped.

I turned away, her anger affecting me now too. "God, you're so sensitive. If you want to be able to have a kid so bad just stop changing into a wolf." I snapped back.

Leah's voice was sharp and surprised when she spoke next. "What?"

I looked back at her with a frown. "If you stop changing maybe it'll come back. It didn't go away until you phased for the first time, right? So just stop. You can do that, can't you? I mean you can control when you phase, so just don't do it anymore." I said with a shrug.

Leah stared at me with a frown, and I could see the wheels turning in her head. Finally she turned away. "Jacob said that to me once." she said, "But I can't at the moment. There's some shit coming, and it'll probably hit the fan soon enough."

We sat there in silence until Jacob finally came back about a half hour later. He came jogging out of the darkness, dressed in dirty jean cut-offs and a stressed out look on his face. I stood up to meet him, but before I could even blink he had me in his arms and was burying his face in my damp hair, inhaling my scent.

"You're okay?" he murmured.

"God Jake, calm the fuck down." Leah said in an irritated voice. "There hasn't even been a whiff of leech in the past three days. Not to mention we don't even know if that leech was one of the ones she saw last year."

Jacob actually growled at her, a low vibration I felt through his chest. "But we don't know if it isn't either." He sneered. "And until we find out I'm not taking any chances."

Leah snorted. "Whatever. Be paranoid. I'm not going to stress myself out over your dumb shit." She sneered, getting up and walking back into the house.

Jacob glared after her hotly until I patted his chest. He looked down at me with tired eyes.

"Did you find anything?" I asked anxiously.

He shook his head. "Not a thing. I don't think I'm being paranoid, but Leah is right. There's not a trace of bloodsucker stink anywhere around here."

"Maybe it left." I said hopefully.

Jacob bent down and pecked my lips, pulling me close. "I don't know. I just have a feeling there's more to this then what we're seeing."

"Don't worry about it Jake." Jared appeared next to him, patting his shoulder as he passed us. "If it was Kim I'd be the same way." He said, walking into the house.

I waited until I heard the screen door close behind him to look back up at Jacob's face. He was frowning slightly, the cresses between his eyebrows prominent and the corners of his mouth twisted downward. He was tense and I could see the stress behind his eyes. I reached up and brushed my fingertips against his jaw, causing him to look down at me.

"I don't want you to freak out over this." I said with a smile. "I'm freaking out enough for the both of us."

He sighed. "It's not that easy, Gwen. I can't relax until I know you're safe."

"You've had me pretty locked up these past few days. I think I'm pretty safe as long as I'm on the reservation." I muttered. "Not that I leave it very often but I would still like to have that option." I grumbled under my breath.

I felt Jacob sigh again, this time sounding weary. "You know I'm just trying to protect you. I'm not trying to cage you up like some unwanted stray dog."

I glared up at him. "Nice analogy coming from someone who changes into said animal."

He rolled his eyes. "Ha ha. You're hilarious sometimes Gwen." He said sarcastically.

"Just stop talking. I don't feel like fighting right now." I said, reaching up on my toes and wrapping my arms around his neck. I pressed my lips to his.

While Jacob had hardly been away from me the last three days, we hadn't really been physical intimate. We were too distracted and stressed out. However, based on the few kisses we _had_ shared it was quickly becoming my favorite pass time.

Jacob was just so warm, especially standing here in the snow like we were. I pressed myself closer to him, feeling his heat through my clothes. I nibbled on his lower lip gently and I felt him tighten his grip on me, actually pulling me off my feet and tangling his fingers in my hair. He really had a thing about playing with my hair. I felt his tongue gently tease the inside of my lips and I pulled away, laughing. He frowned, looking disappointed.

"Hey," he said. "I wasn't done." He pouted.

I leaned my forehead against his. "I believe you Jacob."

"Oh good. Does that mean I can keep kissing you?" he grinned, lifting his eyebrows in question.

I chuckled. "No." I said, causing his grin to fall. "I meant about what you said the other day. About you really loving me, even without the imprint."

He looked surprised and curious. "Yeah?" He said in question.

"I talked to Leah a few minutes ago. She explained it to me." I simply said.

I decided I wouldn't tell him the details of our discussion. How Leah had basically called him to dense to understand his own feelings. But he was a guy, so I didn't really expect him to. Even so, I didn't think he needed to know.

He frowned, puzzled. "You actually talked to Leah? And you're both still breathing?" he said in surprise.

I rolled my eyes. "You're a crack-up Jacob. But yeah, we talked. She just explained the imprint to me a little clearer, that's all." I said with a shrug, threading my fingers through the hair near the base of his neck.

He closed his eyes, making a contented sigh. "Well if this is how you're going to treat me from now on I guess I'll have to actually thank her for once. I might throw up a little though."

"Oh, and you might want to keep your mouth closed around her for a while." I smiled in amusement. "She threatened to rip your tongue out."

He opened his eyes and grinned at me. "Wouldn't want that. You like it too much." He said, wiggling his eyebrows.

I started to laugh but suddenly I saw Jacob's eyes grow wide, and he gasped slightly in shock and surprise. He tossed me away from him so fast I didn't realize what had happened until I found myself back in Emily's house, in Leah's arms. I blinked, trying to clear my head and figure out what had just happened.

Jared, Seth and Jacob stood on Emily's porch, but they were all so wide I couldn't see pass them. I pulled myself free from Leah and rushed to the window.

"What the hell are you doing Willows?" she yelled in a hush, but made no move to grab me. "Do you want to get yourself killed?"

I ignored her, kneeling down below the living room window and slowly peered over the sill so I could see outside. It was snowing harder now and was dark, save for the small porch light that illuminated the three boys who stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the doorway. The looks on their faces, even Seth's, were murderous, their eyes focused on one point in front of them. I turned to look at what they were glaring at. I gasped, feeling a thrill of fear rush through me as I covered my mouth in horror.

It was one of the vampires from a year ago. The blond male stood right at the edge of the light, only a few meters away from the house. He was tall and dressed in black jeans and a black leather biker jacket that glittered in the soft light. His white blond hair was neatly combed and a chain glittered from where it hung around his waist. His stance was relaxed and casual, his hands at his sides. His red eyes peered at the three wolves in front of him calmly and emotionlessly.

"I don't wish to fight." He said calmly, raising both hands in a peaceful gesture.

"What the fuck are you doing on our land, leech!" Jacob growled with a sneer, taking a step forward. "How the hell did you get past the rest of us?"

"My companions and I know of you. We also know of the large coven that lives on the outskirts of the little town near here." the vampire said in a smooth voice. It was like honey. "We have been watching all of you for some time now."

"Then you also know that we could tear you to pieces in under a minute." Jared growled, leaning forward.

The vampire nodded curtly. "We know the legends of your tribe. It's amazing what humans can invent. The internet comes in most useful these days." He said blankly.

"You didn't come here to just talk tech with us did you?" Jacob growled through his teeth. His hands were fisted at his sides and he was shivering slightly. "What do you want, leech?"

"It's not what I want. It's what one of my companions wants." The vampire replied. "Personally I don't care for any of this. But he is young and still has much to learn."

"Just spit it out." Seth demanded his expression angry.

The vampire simply stared at them unblinkingly. Then, ever so slowly, without looking away from them, he raised his arm and pointed his finger right at the window. Right at my horrified face.

"The girl. Gwendolyn Willows." He simply said. He almost sounded bored.

I swear I heard the snap as Jacob lost his temper. He literally lunched himself off of Emily's porch, exploding out of his skin as he did. He landed right where the vampire had been standing moments before, spraying snow everywhere into the air. Both Jared and Seth were right behind him.

More wolves appeared from out of nowhere, swarming Emily's front yard like a bunch of bees defending a hive. I watched in awe and fear as they circled around a tree at the edge of the yard, reminding me of sharks swarming their bleeding prey. I looked up and gasped.

The vampire was in the tree. I couldn't see him very well through the pitch blackness and the thick branches, but his jacket and chain glittered slightly from the bright porch light. The wolves let out loud growls and angry howls, a few of them attempting to get up into the tree, tearing up the bark with their claws. They couldn't reach him, and the whole pack seemed angry and frustrated because of it. The vamp started to speak, and even though they were further away now and the pack was making a huge racket, I could somehow still hear every word he spoke.

"Give us Gwendolyn Willows. If you do not, your tribe with suffer."

The whole pack let loose the loudest, angriest howl I had ever heard in my life. I clapped my hands over my ears, hunching my shoulders and closing my eyes tightly against the sound. Then there was a sharp snapping sound, like wood breaking, a crash, and the sounds of animals rushing around in a frenzy. I chanced a look out the window.

Somehow, the pack had brought the tree down, and now it looked like only a few of them remained. The others must have gone after the vamp.

"Son of a bitch." Leah, who had come up next to me breathed in shock. "Did you see that?" she breathed in awe.

"Did you hear what he said?" I whispered, turning to look at her. I could see Emily and Kim at the entrance to the kitchen, both with their hands over their mouths in horror and shock. Quil stood close to them, a sleeping Claire in his arms. His face was tense and dark.

I swallowed thickly, feeling myself shake as adrenaline and terror coursed through my veins. "They really have come for me." I breathed.

"I want to know how they 'plan to make the tribe suffer'." Leah mused, using air quotes as she spoke. "Like they can get passed us." She scoffed.

"Leah," I said, feeling faint. "That one just did."

Needless to say Jacob didn't leave my side that night. He only patrolled for about an hour, and when he came back he told us that the pack couldn't find a trace of the vamp. His scent was defiantly in the tree, and they had followed it for only about half a mile before it got too thin to follow.

We all stayed at Emily's and Sam's that night. Jacob and I curled up together in their spare bedroom, Jacob wrapped around me, almost possessively. Neither of us got much sleep that night, but when we eventually did get to sleep we slept in late the next morning.

We awoke to a nightmare. Three young children had abruptly vanished from La Push that night. Two had been out trick or treating, but hadn't come home. One had actually been taken from his bed. There was no trace of them.

Now we knew how the tribe would suffer. And it was all because of me.

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><p><strong>Leah was right about the shit hitting the fan. The story will really start to move now. <strong>

**In the next chapter there will be a tribe meeting of the elders, and Seth will throw out an idea that will have Jacob at his throat. But it gets in Gwen's head, and we all know how she likes to make her own decisions…**

**Review please.**


	15. Decisions

**So I was watching this interview today with Kristen Stewart and what she thought of Bella. She said that Bella was always sure of what she wanted, and I have to say that I disagree. The only thing Bella was sure of was that she was willing to sacrifice everyone who loved and cared about her so she could be with Edward. All the other times she was on the wall about everything. But that's just me. I'm not going to go on a rant about it when I know you all are eager to read this chapter.**

**By the way I loved the reviews for the last chapter. Everyone seemed so excited to see what was going to happen, and that made me very happy! So, without further ado, here is the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. If I did Bella probably would have been more like Gwen.**

**Now go! Read!**

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><p>"<em>Running is not survival"-<em>Selene, Underworld Awakening

"_Continuous effort-not strength or intelligence-it the key to unlocking our potential"-_Winston Churchill

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><p>To say things were tense was an understatement. The day after the three children were discovered missing was spent searching for them. Everyone in the pack, except Jacob and Seth, fanned out all across the forest, the reservation and parts of Forks, but there was nothing. Sam, Paul and Jared even went as far as to the border of Canada, but still, they didn't find a trace of the three kids.<p>

Charlie Swan, the Chief of Police in Forks (and Bella's father) came in with a few other police to search, but if the pack couldn't find them, I doubted mere humans cops could.

Meanwhile, I was seriously feeling like the worst person in the world. There was no doubt that the kids had been taken by the vampires after me. How they were getting past the pack I had no idea, but it didn't really matter. I knew in my heart it was all my fault those poor kids were probably dead. Just like it was my fault Michael and the others were dead. If I had done something back then, they would be alive today. I couldn't let people, kids, be killed because of me. I would have to do something.

The day after the search a tribe meeting was called. All ten of the pack, including myself, Emily and Kim, all piled into the Black's tiny living room. Also there was my dad and the three tribe elders: Billy, Sue, and Quil's ancient grandfather, Quil Sr. We all sat swished together, me on Jacob's lap (which was sort of uncomfortable considering my dad was sitting _right there_, but Jacob didn't seem to want to let go of me since the other night) with snacks and sodas on the table, but nobody touched them.

"Now then," Billy's low voice started. "We are all aware of what's happening. Cold ones have entered our land and taken our children. Sam, can you tell us what you have found?" Billy asked gravely. "Anything?"

Sam sat across the room, Emily sitting next to him, one of her hands on his arm, her eyes worried. Sam shook his head, causing a wave of disappointment to flow around the room.

"Absolutely nothing." Sam said. "We've only seen the one, but there's no doubt that there are others." Here he quickly glanced at me and then back at Billy. "The one that came to us the other night was…fast. Faster than any other we've come across. We couldn't catch him."

"You couldn't catch him?" Sue asked with a puzzled look. "How is that possible? The pack is faster than even the Cullen's. How could you not catch him?"

Sam shrugged. He seemed calm, but I could see how much this was bothering him. "We followed his scent was far as a few miles before Port Angeles. That was when it became impossible to follow."

Billy nodded. "And the Cullen's?" he asked.

"They claim not to know anything about them." Sam said. "Alice can't see them very well because she does not know them, but she did say that they will come back for something." I swear everyone's eyes flashed to my face and away again. I felt my stomach twist and Jacob's arms tightened around me.

"They haven't been back to see the Cullen's then?" Billy asked.

Sam shook his head again. "No. Only the one time they know of."

"They obviously have some sort of power." Jared spoke up. "That leech was just there and then gone. I didn't see him move at all." He said. I saw Seth nod in agreement.

It was silent then as everyone thought about this. I could feel my heart pound as I thought about why they were here and what they were doing. It was like nobody wanted to mention it. I couldn't take it.

"They want me." I said in a quiet, tight voice.

Everyone looked at me, expressions varying, my dad's particularly tense. Behind me, Jacob let out a low growl and Billy rubbed his eyes.

"Do we have any idea why that is?" he asked quietly.

I opened my mouth but Jacob quickly cut me off. "She doesn't have to talk about it." He growled through his teeth.

I turned to give him a disapproving look. "Jacob don't growl at your father. What's wrong with you?" I asked with a frown.

He looked at me and I thought I might have actually seen some fear in his eyes. "Gwen-"

"Everyone already knows." I said, cutting him off and turning back to look at everyone. "One of my friends back home told me that a boy I was sort of friends with back in school was asking about me. The way she described him made me think he's a vampire now. And he might have been with the ones who attacked me last year. I think it might be them."

"The one the other night said to give him Gwen or the tribe would suffer." Jared said, earning another growl from Jacob.

"Well, I think we can all agree we won't be doing that." My father spoke up, voice and eyes hard.

Everyone nodded, and I was sorry to say that I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Then guilt. Who else would die if I didn't go to them? More kids? Parents with children to care for? My own father? That last thought sent a bolt of panic through my stomach and heart.

"It's apparent that these vampires have some sort of power that allows them to get past the pack. So how should we deal with this?" Billy asked, rubbing the arms of his wheelchair in thought.

"We could just wait for them to come back and try again." Brady spoke up timidly.

I saw Leah roll her eyes. "Yeah, and have them take more people. Great idea, smartass."

"Well why don't you throw out an idea if you're so smart!" Collin shot out, causing Leah to growl at him.

"That's enough!" Sue snapped, causing everyone to jump. "We're in a state of emergency, and we don't have time to argue with each other!" she said firmly.

"Sue is right." Quil Sr spoke up in a rusty voice. "Gwen is obviously no longer safe on the reservation."

At this I couldn't help but think that _nobody_ was safe while on the reservation, not while that one vampire could get pass the pack. Everyone in the pack themselves seemed to bristle lightly at this revelation, but nobody spoke up.

"Dammit!" Paul exclaimed, smacking his fist against the wall where he stood. It caused a fist sized hole in the plaster. "Those damn leeches are making fools of us! I say we just hunt them down until we find them! Their around here somewhere!"

"But you couldn't find the one." Emily spoke up hesitantly. "How will you find the others?"

Paul growled at her, causing Sam to lean forward and wrap an arm around her shoulders, baring his teeth. "Back off Paul." He growled lowly, causing us all to tense. Jared, Quil and Embry leaned forward as well, ready to grab Paul if he tried to make a move.

Paul turned away, but I noticed he was shaking slightly and glaring into the air, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides.

"Gwen could leave the reservation. Jacob could go with her." Kim spoke up shyly. When everyone looked at her she blushed and hid her face in Jared's side, causing him to smile tenderly.

"That's an idea." My dad nodded. He turned to look at me. "You could go home to California."

I instantly shook my head. "There's no way I'm going home. What if they figure out I'm not on the reservation? They'll look for me and the first place they'll look is home. I don't want them going near mom." I said, horrified at the thought of them getting their hands on my mother.

Dad nodded gravely. "Good point."

"Well, we can't have them running all over the place after her." Billy said. "We should try and keep them close to home, where we can still roam around freely to search. Sending Gwen away to another city is just asking for disaster. The pack won't be able to hide easily." He pointed out.

Jacob rested his head against my shoulder, tightening his hold around my waist as everyone started discussing what to do with me. I reached up and ran my fingers through his hair, feeling him relax only slightly. I felt so bad for him. He had been tense since the other night, hardly sleeping. I wanted to do something, but I had no idea what.

"I have an idea!" Seth spoke up over everyone talking over each other. They all quieted and looked at him. He instantly shrank away, which surprised me. Seth wasn't shy.

"What is it?" Quil Sr asked.

"Well…uh…" Seth's eyes darted around, looking at everyone nervously, but mostly at Jacob, who had raised his head to look at him. "I…uh…" he continued to stutter.

"Just spit it out, you little spaz." Leah shot out, earning a warning look from Sue.

Seth licked his lips nervously, still glancing at Jacob. "I thought…maybe…uh…Gwen could…um…stay with the…Cullen's?" the end of the sentence was high; either because he wanted it to sound like a question or just because he was nervous, I couldn't tell.

It was like a bomb went off in the living room. The reaction to Seth's words was instant.

"Are you crazy!"

"How could we send her there?"

"You screwy little punk!"

Jacob's reaction scared me the most. He was very calm as he gently lifted me off his lap and placed me down next to my father. He, Billy and I watched him with cautious eyes as he made his way over to Seth, who seemed to notice because he jumped up with a look of panic. The pack was instantly on their feet as well.

"Jacob." Sam spoke in a warning tone, but Jacob ignored him, leaning over Seth, who shrank back. Leah made a move forward but Embry, who had been next to her, grabbed her arm.

Jacob was growling as he spoke in a low voice. "Have you lost your mind, Seth? Gwen's my imprint. There's no way in hell I'm taking her anywhere near them."

Seth swallowed thickly. "But…I mean…they would take care of her. You know their good, Jake." He said voice wavering.

Jacob's growling grew louder. "Just because you're a little leech lover and worship the ground they walk on doesn't mean I have to trust them!" Jacob exclaimed. "She's not going there, Seth! I can't even believe you would say something like that!"

"But-"

Before Seth could even finish Jacob lunged at him, snarling, causing the rest of the pack to jump on him. I watched with my mouth open in shock and fear as the imprints and elders quickly moved away, my dad grabbing me as he went.

It was crazy. It took almost the whole pack to drag Jacob out of the house, but thankfully he let them. He was shaking like mad, and almost as soon as he was out the door he exploded. He landed away from the pack, pacing back and forth, shaking his head like he was trying to clear it.

I ran out the door, ignoring how everyone told me to stay back. But I didn't leave the porch, just out the door and looked at Jacob, upset.

"Jacob!" I yelled, feeling something stirring in my chest.

Jacob looked up at me with big wolf eyes, sniffing up toward me, like he was trying to catch my scent. I glared at him.

"How could you do that?" I yelled.

He seemed puzzled, blinking, all anger gone.

"How could you attack Seth like that? Seth of all people! He was just trying to help! How could you do that!" I yelled at him.

He backed away from me, head low, whimpering. His eyes were still on me and they were pleading.

"That was just disgusting Jacob! I can't believe you would do something like that!" I yelled.

Jacob let out another whimper and then ran off in a blur, disappearing into the trees. Embry and Quil looked up at me.

"I think you hurt his feelings." Quil said, looking at me with a frown.

I frowned back. "He attacked Seth! How is that okay?" I asked.

"We fight all the time, Gwen." Embry said. "But we don't put each other's imprints in danger. Or even suggest it. It's like…scared law." He said. "Of course he got angry."

"We'll go after him." Sam said. He and the rest of the pack, save for Leah, started forward toward the forest.

Sam suddenly paused, looking back at me. "Decide what you want to do quickly Gwen. Jacob will only listen to you. You have to decide."

* * *

><p>Seth and Leah stayed with me that night. They were in the living room with my dad, while I sat curled in my closet and trying not to cry.<p>

I didn't know what to do. I didn't want anyone else to die. But the only way I could see that happening was if I gave myself up to the vampires. I didn't want to do that either. I didn't want to die. But I didn't want to hide behind the pack either.

I knew the right thing to do was to give myself up. But I was scared. So scared. I had no idea what to do, but I was fully aware I was probably being very selfish. If I died, everyone in the tribe would be safe. What was one person's life for dozens of others?

I knew I had people who loved me. Jacob, my mom and dad, the pack, my friends back home. How would they feel, knowing I was dead? I had so many people that cared for me, could I just go off and die, knowing they would probably be devastated?

I had always been a fighter. My grandmother said I was a lot like my mother. She was a fighter too, so I guess I had her spirit. I had never known my mother to back down from a fight. I tried to emulate that. I was still alive when the paramedics found me back in LA. My chest had been nearly cracked open, but I lived. I could fight them. But how? How could a mere, weak little human like me fight vampires that could tear people to shreds?

The Cullen's. Seth had suggested I go there. How could I? They were vampires, but not like the others apparently. I still didn't trust them. I didn't know them. The pack evidently trusted them enough to work with them on this, but not enough to send me there. But Seth trusted them, and I trusted Seth. Was that enough?

I realized how prejudice I was being. I didn't know the Cullen's at all, never even thought about them, never talked about them. It was two things. One, they were vampires, and I hated vampires. And two, Bella was one of them, and I didn't like her. I guess it was possible she could be okay, for a useing, back stabbing vampire turned person. Urg, I couldn't even stand to think about her.

But if I stayed near La Push it would be easier for the pack to hunt down my stalker vampires. I guess I would be like bait. Half the pack could patrol La Push and the other half could watch for the stalkers. And with the Cullen's around, we would have a better chance of catching them. There were ten wolves, and eight adult Cullen's. Nessie was still a child, so I doubted she would be fighting. So eighteen verses three. That sounded like good odds to me.

And there was another issue here. I was just tired of running and being scared of vampires. I had a legit reason to be afraid, I knew that, but I didn't want to be afraid of the Cullen's. I couldn't live with a constant fear of them, knowing they were just up the road. I could live with not liking them. I was okay with that, but I couldn't live with the fear of them.

I crawled out of the closet and headed out of my room, toward the living room. It had been a few hours since Jacob had run off, and it was the most he had been away from me in nearly a week. When I didn't see him in the living room a fierce longing to see him erupted across my chest and shoulders.

Seth sat on the couch, stuffing his mouth with some leftover chicken casserole and mashed potatoes. He looked completely fine, looking up when I entered the room. He smiled gently.

"Hey Gwen. How're you feeling?" he asked.

I gave him a puzzled look. "What are you talking about? Jacob tried to rip your head off this afternoon and you're asking me how I'm doing?"

He shrugged, still smiling. "Not like it hasn't happened before." Then he frowned. "But I really shouldn't have said what I did. It's law not to hurt or put another wolf's imprint in danger. We break rules every once in a while, but never, ever that one. I don't blame Jake for being angry at me."

"Imprints are really important then huh?" I asked, sitting down next to him and scooping up some potatoes from his plate. He didn't seem to mind.

"They're the most important person to a wolf." Seth nodded matter of factly.

"What would happen if an imprint died?" I asked quietly, thinking of the decision I had just made.

Seth looked at me in horror. "I don't even want to think about that." He said. "I mean, I kinda know what imprinting feels like through the others, and it's really intense, so I guess if an imprint died…" he shook his head fiercely, unable to finish. "That's why Jake really wants you to be safe. I've seen in his head, and he would do anything for you Gwen." He grinned. "He'd find a way to move the sun if you said you were getting a sunburn and there was no shade." He laughed.

I smiled at the thought. For a second, Seth's words made me rethink my decision. I pushed the hesitation away. I had to be firm in this. Brave, unyielding.

"Do you know where Jacob is?" I asked the boy next to me, who was once again stuffing his face.

He nodded, swallowing hard. "Out patrolling. Leah's circling the house now."

"Can you have her call him for me? I need to talk to him." I said, suddenly feeling uneasy.

"Sure. What do you need to talk about?" He asked, tilting his head curiously.

I took a deep breath. "I've decided to go the Cullen's."

* * *

><p>Needlessly to say Jacob was not happy. We argued for a couple hours and a few times he had to leave the house for fear he would phase in my living room. Dad didn't like it either. He was on Jacob's side in this, but when Jacob started yelling Dad started yelling at him for yelling at me, which just made it worse. I had to finally beg Dad to leave so Jacob and I could sort it out. When he refused he and I started yelling at him, telling him he couldn't control me and that I wasn't a kid anymore. He disagreed, and then I had no choice to hit below the belt. I told him he didn't have any right because I only ever saw him once a week during the summer. He wasn't really there when I was a kid, he hadn't raised me.<p>

The look on his face hurt me so badly, but it had to be done. It was for the best. He went to bed after that, moving like a zombie.

An hour after that I sat on the couch, Jacob on the other side. The air around us was tense, and it was taking everything I had in me not to cry. This whole situation was stressing me out something awful.

"Jacob." I croaked out. "Please. I need to do this. I don't want anyone else to die because of me. I don't want to be afraid of the Cullen's anymore. Please, let me do this." I begged my voice thick and my nose slightly clogged.

Jacob took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. He looked at me with a tortured expression. "Do you know what you're asking me? You want me to put you in a dangerous situation so you can avoid another dangerous situation. It doesn't make sense, Gwen."

"It makes perfect sense; you're just refusing to see it." I said. "If I go there the stalkers won't come into La Push. The pack can still hunt for them because they know they'll be around the Cullen's place. And the Cullen's themselves will help. Eighteen to three, Jacob! Think about that. What are the chances they'll get to me?"

He shook his head. "You'll still be in a house full of them." He said. "You don't know anything about the Cullen's. Bella's still new, Jasper can't control himself, and Rosalie would do something to you just because she hates my guts. I don't want to take that chance. I love you, Gwen. I can't lose you like that." He said, clenching his jaw.

"So you would sacrifice the whole tribe for me?" I asked in disbelief.

Jacob looked at me, eyes hard and serious. "You're everything to me Gwen. Not only would I sacrifice the tribe for you, I would die for you. Everything I do is for you. As long as you're alive and happy, that's all that matters to me."

I stared at him in shock. His intensity and seriousness as he spoke those words frightened me. He would let everyone die for me. _He_ would die for me. The whole intensity of the imprint finally hit me as I heard those words and it was crippling. I was absolutely speechless.

Just then a dozen earsplitting howls broke through the silence, causing both me and Jacob to turn toward the window, breaking our staring contest. Seth suddenly ran inside, a look of panic on his face, which caused Jacob to stand, posture alert.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"The vampire came back, the blond one." Seth breathed.

I was on my feet now too, heart pounding. "Well? Did you guys get him?" I asked, wringing my hands, hoping.

Seth shook his head, causing my heart to drop. "We caught him on the other side of the reservation. He took Mr. Orenda and his daughter. We tried to catch him but…." Seth looked away, his whole figure screaming of shame and sadness.

I sucked in a breath of air, slowly sitting down on the couch. "Five people. Five people are dead because of me." I gasped, feeling the pain and guilt press down on me.

"No, Gwen." Jacob was suddenly there, holding my arms and looking at me intensely. "This isn't your fault. None of it is."

"Then whose fault is it Jacob!" I exclaimed, the tears finally spilling over. "Five people are gone because some stupid vampires decided they wanted me for something! No, not five people! Nine people! The five here and my four friends they got back home! It _is_ my fault!" I cried, covering my eyes and trying to stop the sobs. They wouldn't stop.

"Gwen." I felt Jacob's arms encircle me tightly, pressing me to his warmth. "Gwen, Gwen, please don't cry. Don't do this. Don't, please." Jacob pleaded into my hair with an agonized voice.

I sniffled and sobbed against him, feeling like the whole world was pressing down on me. Nine people were dead because of me. How could I even live with myself? If I had any kind of respect for those people, I would march myself into those woods right now and let those vamps take me. But I knew Jacob would never allow it. So I did the only thing I knew would have a chance at working.

I wrapped my arm, the one that was almost fully healed from Mr. Orenda's dog, around Jacob's back. I pushed my head into his chest.

"Please, Jacob. You have to let me go to the Cullen's. Please. You have too." I whimpered, not caring how pathetic I sounded at this point.

I could feel Jacob shaking, hear his heart pound and the sound of his breathing. He was struggling with this, I knew that. Was I being selfish, forcing this on him? But then again, was he being selfish trying to keep me away? It was for the good of the tribe, I honestly believed this.

"Jacob." I whispered, heart pounding in time with his.

Finally, he took a deep raged breath and spoke in a strangled voice. "Okay. We'll go to the Cullen's."

* * *

><p><strong>So, um…anyone know any good blonde jokes? Seriously, I don't want to use old tired ones, so if you know any PM me, or I will be forced to simply look some up on the net. The best one's get a spot in the next few chapters!<strong>

**How did you like this chapter? I wanted to show a little more of Gwen's sensitive side, her weaknesses, how human she really is. And some of Jacob's view as well. I hope you enjoyed it :) **

**In the next chapter Gwen will finally meet the Cullen's, and while Bella is excited to meet her, Gwen's not nearly so nice. Also, we may (I say may because I haven't decided yet) get a peek at who Gwen's stalker vampires are…**

**Reviews are awesome!**


	16. Cullen House

**I am so unbelievably sorry for the late update! School just randomly decided to kick my butt this month, and it's continuing to do so. Plus my internet was down for like, a whole week! A WHOLE WEEK! The withdrawal was horrible…**

**Plus, I had a bad case of writers block for this chapter. Usually I plan out what happens, but this chapter was just…randomly written. It's kind of, sort of a filler, but there will be some important parts, so pay attention! I'm not completely satisfied with it, but I decided to post anyway because I couldn't think of how to make it better. And the whole late update thing…**

**But! It's extra-long, and there's some more JacobxGwen moments, cuz I felt there weren't enough. A late Valentine's Day present from my heart to yours :) **

**So without further ado, disclaimer: Twilight is not mine, and if it was…I'd be rich, but also ashamed of myself, so the money wouldn't matter.**

* * *

><p>"<em>A heart isn't judged by how much it loves, but by how much it is loved by others."<em>- The Wizard of Oz

"_I may forgive, but I will never, ever forget."-_ Unknown

* * *

><p>Jacob and I left for the Cullen's place the next day, at around mid-morning. He had called them the night before and arranged everything, telling them our plan. From what he told me it seemed like they were eager to help, and also to meet me.<p>

Jacob himself seemed…tense. I mean, I really couldn't tell what he was feeling in all honesty. He hovered around me with a look like sadness, and then it would turn into a frown, then edgy and twitchy. It was a bit irritating, but I was so distracted by my own worries I never told him to knock it off.

I was scared, I would admit it. But another part of me was filled with anticipation to meet these…vampires. I was curious. What would they be like? It felt like when Jacob had told me about turning into a wolf; I wanted to see, but at the same time I really didn't. All these feelings swirled around in my head and stomach and I was stressing out over them so much my skin was starting to break out, which just irritated me more. I didn't want to meet them with pimples all over my forehead.

I dressed myself in a black long-sleeved shirt and my usual jeans and boots that morning. I left my hair down and placed a flower clip in it to keep my bangs back, and stepped back to look in the mirror.

A young, cute faced girl stared back at me. But her eyes were hunted. They were a dark brown, hallow looking and filled with worry, light circles under them. Her light coffee skin looked paler than it should be, and her light pink mouth was set in a sort of grimace, the corners pulled down.

I looked awful, like I should be in the hospital. I looked like I had last year, after I had seen my friends devoured in that ally. All this was really taking a toll on me.

A knock at the door made me jump.

"Gwen." It was Seth. "Jake says it's time to go. Are you ready?"

"Yeah." I called back, opening the door as I did.

Seth stood on the other side, hands relaxed at his sides. He gave me a once over and smiled.

"You look pretty." He said. "Trying to butter Jake up?" he asked with a knowing smile.

"No." I said honestly. "I just want to look presentable, that's all. And don't lie to me. I know I look awful." I said, walking passed him.

"No you don't. And even if you didn't, we all know this is hard for you. You're the prettiest of the imprints, Gwen." He said. Then he quickly sucked in a sharp breath that had me turn to look at him with a raised eyebrow. He held his hands up and gave a sheepish, nervous looking smile. "But don't tell Paul, Sam or Jared I said that. Or Jake. I don't want to get my arm ripped off."

I blinked at him in confusion, but before I could ask why he was acting so weird (or maybe he was just trying to cheer me up) he took my arm and started to lead me outside.

Jacob's pack stood gathered outside, Jacob himself leaning against the Rabbit, talking to Embry and Quil. Leah stood off to the side, arms crossed and nose pointed into the air as she looked away, but I could tell she was listening. My dad was there too, standing there and also listening to whatever Jacob was saying. When Seth opened the screen door for me they all looked up, my dad instantly coming over and wrapping me in a hug.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay here? You don't have to do this, Gwen." The emotion in his voice was thick.

"I know. But it's the right thing to do. I can feel it." I said, wrapping my arms around him and trying not to cry. It seemed I was trying to hold back tears a lot these last few days.

I pulled back to look at him and I could tell that this situation had not been kind to my father. The light wrinkles he had around his eyes and mouth were more prominent, as well as the bags beneath his eyes. His long hair, which he usually had in a neat ponytail, looked limp and thin, and he had a bit of scuffle on his cheeks and chin. My dad was always clean shaven and put together, but not now. I clenched my teeth, knowing I had done that to him. I swallowed thickly.

"I'm sorry dad. About what I said last night, about how you had no right to tell me what to do. I didn't mean it." I choked, feeling the tears cloud my eyes.

In the back of my head I knew why I was getting so emotional. There was a chance something might happen, that the pack and the Cullen's could fail and I would die. This may be the last time I ever saw my father. Despite the fact that we weren't as close as we had been when I was a kid, he was still my father, and I loved him.

He seemed to realize it too because he gave me a fierce hug. "You don't have to apologize, Gwen. I always knew you were your own person and didn't need to be coddled, no matter what your mother says. I'm proud you are my daughter, strong enough to face your fears."

This was the only thing I really didn't like about my father. He was good at giving emotional, touching speeches that often made me cry. Like right now; a few tears spilled over, despite my attempts at stifling them. I sniffled, hugging him tight.

"I love you dad. I'll see you soon." I said, pulling away from him and hoping I wasn't lying.

He nodded, his chin stiff and eyes looking moist. "I love you too, kiddo. See you soon."

I walked over to Jacob and the pack, who were all pointedly looking away, except for Jacob, who had his blood shot eyes on me. As I passed Quil, I swore I heard him sniffle. I looked over at him, only to see that his lower lip was slightly trembling. I couldn't help the smile that stretched across my face, despite how I was still feeling like I would break down any second.

"Quil," I said, "Are you crying?"

"What? No! I don't cry!" he said quickly, but he did sniffle again, looking away from us.

"I dunno. Seems to me you denied that pretty quickly." I said, grinning through my tears.

"I never knew you were so sensitive, Quil. You want me to go get Claire's teddy bear for you?" Embry joined in, also grinning.

"Maybe he needs a hug." Seth suggested, smiling.

"Your face is all red, man." Jacob spoke up, slightly smiling.

"Shut up, all of you!" Quil exclaimed. "I'm not crying. I'm a tough loving leech killer. We don't cry!"

I shrugged. "It's okay if you want to cry, Quil. I mean, Jacob does drugs and I'm okay with that, so I'm sure Claire will be okay with you crying. I'm sure she wouldn't mind sharing her teddy with you." I smiled, ignoring Jacob's exasperated sigh behind me.

Embry, Seth and my dad were smiling in amusement now, and even Leah's scowl seemed lighter, but Quil glowered at me. "You fit in way to well with us."

I laughed, feeling lighter than I had in days.

* * *

><p>The Cullen's lived on the very outskirts of Fork's, and the only way you could get to their place was to actually drive down this hidden dirt road that was nearly over grown with forest. I looked around the shadowy darkness, feeling unsettled.<p>

"Milking the whole 'evil monster living in the woods' thing a bit aren't they?" I asked.

Seth, who I had learned was sort of like Jacob's wingman while at the Cullen's, laughed from the backseat.

"They aren't evil, Gwen. You'll really like them! Esme's cooking is the best! Right Jake?" he asked, looking over at the brooding boy driving.

I looked over as well. The slight good humor our joking had put him in was gone, and now Jacob's face was back to that tense mask he had been wearing for the last few days.

He grunted in response to Seth's question. "No."

Seth blinked, seeming confused. "But you love Esme's cooking. What happened?"

Jacob's eyes flashed to my face and back to the road in front of him. "Shut up Seth."

Seth made a sort of exasperated sound and slumped back into his seat, pouting. I smiled slightly at his reflection in my side mirror. He really did remind me of a little kid.

The rest of the few minutes it took us to get to the Cullen's was spent in silence, me glancing between Jacob in anxiousness, and Seth in amusement.

I don't know what I was expecting the Cullen's house to look like. The Addams family house? Dracula's castle, maybe? The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland? Well, whatever I was expecting, it sure wasn't what it was.

The Cullen's lived in three story house that was made of light wood, the whole back part made of glass. It was pretty in a classic, sophisticated kind of way, but had sort of an old world charm that seemed out of place sitting in the middle of a thick and spooky forest. If I didn't know that there were vampires living in it I might have liked it. But that fact was like a stigma on the house, and I knew if I survived all this, I would never come back here again.

Jacob pulled the Rabbit over toward the side of the house and parked, causing me to spot a large garage, easily big enough for five or six cars.

"Huh." I said, leaning back into my seat. "Guess all those stories about vampires being rich were true." I muttered. "Who needs a garage that big?"

Jacob looked at Seth in the rearview mirror. "Seth, go tell them we're here." He said.

Seth looked at him, that confused look back on his face. "But they probably already"- he cut himself off when he saw the dark look Jacob was giving him. "Oh, right. Okay." He skittered out of the car, making a dash back around towards the front of the house.

I looked over at Jacob, only to see him gazing ahead, his hands clenching and unclenching around the steering wheel. His eyes were narrowed, but he didn't seem angry. I reached over and touched his shoulder, causing him to look over at me. His eyes were intense, like they usually were when he looked at me, but this time there was a slight look of desperation to them.

Before I could speak he leaned forward and took my face in his hands, kissing me fiercely. My eyes went wide, taken aback the desperation in his kiss. It was a kiss like he would never see me again, like I was walking to my death. Maybe I was and just didn't fully realize it.

He pulled away just a little, his fingers running through the loose hair around my ears. His breath was coming in little pants, like he was trying to control himself.

"I know your upset with me." I said quietly. "But I'm sure this will work Jacob."

"Why do you want to be here so badly? You're terrified of vampires. Why?" he breathed, looking at me desperately. "You don't want to have anything to do with them." He said, motioning to the house. "So why? Tell me. Please."

I took a deep breath. "And that's exactly it." I said, looking up at Jacob's tortured and confused eyes. "I'm so tired of being afraid all the time. I know it's not the same as facing the ones from last year." I said, ignoring the twist in my stomach as I thought of them. I hoped it didn't show on my face. "But if I stay with the Cullen's, I feel like that not only will it help you catch the others, but that I'll be able to live without constantly looking over my shoulder for something that wants to tear me apart."

Jacob grimaced at that and I sighed. "I don't trust the Cullen's. But I trust Seth, and so do you. So why don't you want me to be here?" I asked, looking up at him.

He chewed on the corner of his lip for a second before running a hand threw his hair. "I told you why. I'm not really worried about any of them but the three I told you about. Bella, Jasper and the blond."

"I don't think that's it. Not completely anyway. Tell me the real reason." I said, watching him carefully.

He stared at me, eyes taking everything in. He seemed to be making some sort of decision.

"I'm at the point where I don't think I could live if something happened to you." He said seriously, his eyes on mine. "You're human, Gwen. Compared to me, or to any of the Cullen's, even Nessie, you're breakable. You think you're indestructible, but you aren't. You don't have any idea how fragile you are, Gwen. If any of us, even the pack, slips up for just a second and you're near them, you could get really hurt. Even…" he trailed off, sounding pained and choked. "If that happens, I'll have to kill them, no matter who they are. I don't want to have to kill any one close to me, Gwen. Not even the Cullen's. I would do it, no hesitation, but I don't want to be put in that situation."

"Sounds to me like you don't want to kill for me." I was only joking, trying to lighten the mood, but Jacob seemed completely serious. He shook his head.

"No, that's the thing. I would kill for you. If you were hurt or…killed…I would fight to kill whoever did it. The others would probably come after me once I did that. I wouldn't be able to take them all, and that's fine. If you died, I wouldn't be fighting to live anyway." He said that last part so carelessly; it chilled me to the bone.

I swallowed thickly, looking at him with wide eyes. "Are you…being serious right now?" I asked in disbelief.

Jacob frowned. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"No, Jacob!" I exclaimed. I pulled my knees up and balanced myself on them, so I was almost eye level with him. I took his face in my hands, leaning my forehead against his and look him right in the eyes.

"Promise me that no matter what happens to me, you will live." I said, feeling my heart pound. I almost felt like I was out of breath, it was beating so fast.

"Gwen-"

"You said you would do anything for me." I said a little louder, cutting him off. "So I want you to live, no matter what happens to me from this point on, if those vamps kill me, or if I break an arm, or even if I end up in a coma and my parents have to pull the plug, I want you to promise me you will live, no matter what. Promise me, Jacob." I said intensely, holding myself back from trying to shake him.

He swallowed, looking tired. I felt his hand take my arm and pull me to him, wrapping his arms around me. "That's a pretty steep promise." He said into my hair.

"I don't care. Promise me." I demanded, trying to look up at him. He was holding me so tightly, I could hardly move.

A thick silence enveloped us, the only sound being our breathing and heart beats. Finally Jacob took a breath.

"I'll promise only if you make me a promise too."

"What is it?" I asked.

"The same thing. If something happens to me I want you to find someone else. I want you to go to all those places you want to see, and I want you to get married and have kids. I want you to live and be happy."

I blinked, taken aback. The thought of dying if something happened to Jacob had never crossed my mind. It would be the most unbearable pain imaginable I'm sure, but I didn't think I would have it in me to kill myself if Jacob died. I would still live, but I don't think I would ever get married or have kids, and I'm certain I would never be truly happy again. I was more sure than anything that Jacob was it for me. There wouldn't be any others after him.

I had never been very religious, but in that moment I said a little prayer that nothing would ever happen to Jacob, not only for him, but for myself and our families as well. I crossed two of my fingers behind my back and looked but at him, smiling.

"I promise."

* * *

><p>The Cullen's were waiting for us in the foyer. There were only seven of them there, standing in pairs and positioned around the front door and stairs, expressions varying.<p>

Jacob led me in with one arm around my shoulders, and I kept my hands fisted in my sweater, feeling tense.

The inside was very pretty, just like the outside, and everything was covered in light colors, light browns and creams and chocolates. There was a soft scent of what smelled like fabric softener coming from everything, and I wondered if it was because they couldn't stand the smell of werewolf and were trying to cover it up.

Behind me, Jacob looked around. "Hey, where are the pixie and the emo? And where did Seth go?"

"Alice and Jasper went out a few moments ago. They should be back sometime soon. Seth is in the kitchen." A gentle voice answered, but I didn't catch who spoke. Jacob grumbled something about Seth being a punk, but I ignored him, intent on watching all of them.

I looked around at them standing there, feeling the urge to run rushing through me. They were just like the vampires from last year. They varied in shape and size, like real people, but looking at them up close like I was, there was something…mythical about them. Not just because they were vamps, of course, but what I mean is that if you saw them on the street and you had no idea what they were, you would still know there was something about them. They looked like they had just stepped out of a children's story book, with their beautiful clothes, pale skin and golden eyes. I had once read something when I was a kid about the fey, and that's what I was reminded of when I saw them up close. Fey were beautiful and deadly, and the Cullen's embodied that. Only with fey there were ways to keep them away from you, with vampires you were pretty much dead the moment they decided you were.

My heart was pounding as I thought all of this and I wished it would stop, because I had a feeling they could hear it. I was afraid it would just make them hungry.

The sound of light laughter reached my ears and I turned my eyes toward my right, seeing an average sized boy standing there with a slim girl, holding a little girl in her arms. It was the boy who had laughed, and I found myself marveling at his hair. It was the weirdest color red I had ever seen, almost a bronze color, like the color of those ancient Greek pots you see in museums. The fact that it was so crazy made him almost seem like a regular human. I mean, besides the fact that his skin was paler than whiteout.

"It's my natural color." He smiled at me kindly, causing my stomach to flip. I took a step back into Jacob, feeling suddenly more uncomfortable than I had been. How did he know I was thinking about his hair?

This time he frowned and looked a Jacob in disapproval. "You didn't tell her?"

I touched Jacob's hand, afraid to take my eyes off the boy. "Tell me what?" I asked, surprised and ashamed at how my voice came out so small.

"Aw, crap. I completely forgot to warn you." Jacob said behind me, wrapping his arm tighter around my shoulders. Before he could speak the boy cut him off, smiling at me with kind eyes.

"Don't be upset with him, Gwen. Jacob has just been so worried about you it seems it slipped his own mind to tell you about my ability. I am able to read a person's thoughts." He said, throwing an amused, almost haughty smile at Jacob, who glowered at him.

I felt my eyes grow wide. "You read minds?" I asked, feeling a cross between embarrassment, awe and horror.

The boy nodded. "Yes. I'm afraid I can't control it as well as I would like,"-here Jacob scoffed but was ignored-"but it does come in useful at times."

He started to come forward, his steps slow and deliberate, like he was approaching a frightened animal he didn't want to chase away. That's exactly what I felt like. Jacob squeezed my shoulder when he came to a stop about a foot away from me. He offered me his hand slowly.

"I'm Edward Cullen. I'm pleased to meet you. Jacob thinks about you often." He said pleasantly, causing someone to snicker, but I wasn't sure who.

I stared at his hand, unsure what to do. Everything in me wanted to run away from him, but I took a deep breath to steady my heart, and took his hand. It was as cold and hard as ice and made me shiver.

"I'm Gwen." I said in a quiet voice. "It's…nice to meet you."

"You don't have to force yourself, dear." A motherly voice spoke up near the stairs. "We know how hard this is for you."

I looked up, only to have my breath catch. Standing there was a motherly looking woman with kind gold eyes and billowy caramel colored hair. She had a classic kind of beauty, like one of those actresses in an old timey, black and white movie. But she wasn't why I had gasped. It was the man standing behind her. It was the same man from that day at the hospital. Dr. Carlisle Cullen.

He smiled. "Welcome to our home, Gwen. We are all very pleased to have you here." It was like we had never met before. I found myself actually grateful he didn't mention it. And surprisingly, a little ashamed.

"Hmph." A gorgeous blonde standing farthest away snorted. "Yes," she sneered, glaring at Jacob. "We're _so_ glad the mutt has come back to visit."

I could practically _hear_ Jacob smirking as he stood behind me. "You know you love me, blondie. I've got plenty of new jokes, special, just for you." He winked mockingly, causing the blonde to throw him a disgusted look.

The large vampire standing next to the now steaming blonde let out a snicker. He was almost as big as Jacob, with thick bands of muscle around his arms and curly black hair. He shot me a mischievous smile, and I noticed he had dimples.

"Don't listen to them, midget." He said, looking at me in amusement. He gave me a small theatrical bow, one arm across his thick chest. "I'm Emmett, and I'm looking forward to all the entertainment that is sure to come with you being here."

I blinked at him. "Did you just call me a midget?"

"Yep. How tall are you? 4'7''? 4'8''?" he asked with a smile.

I frowned, feeling myself bristle and mouth fly out of control. "I'm 5'1''! And depending on which pair of heels I'm wearing I could be taller! Besides compared to you, Shaq, of course I'm small." I scowled at him.

Emmett blinked at me, then erupted into laughter, causing the blonde next to him (I still hadn't caught her name) to scowl at him in irritation.

"This is going to be great!" he grinned excitedly.

"Oh, shut up Emmett." The brunette standing next to Edward said, putting the little girl, who was looking at me in curiosity, down to stand by herself. When she straightened up again she smiled at me joyously, her gold eyes excited and eager.

"I'm Bella. I'm really pleased to meet you, Gwen. When Jacob told me he imprinted I was so excited I almost couldn't take it!" she laughed friendlily, her voice reminding me of ringing bells.

Bella. This was Bella, the girl Jacob had loved and done so much for. This was the girl who had ripped his heart out, took it and stomped it into the ground after she was finished using it for herself. After she had made Jacob so miserable and hurt to the point where he had actually ran away.

And she was beautiful. She was both taller and slimmer than me, with narrow hips and smallish breasts. Her dark mahogany hair was slightly wavy and down to her waist, like flowing chocolate. She had a small, heart shaped face, with high and defined cheek bones and perfectly clear skin, the color of porcelain. Her eyes were like liquid butterscotch, warm and inviting. She looked like a perfect Greek sculpture, something that belonged in a museum for millions of people to admire.

A fierce anger erupted in my chest, more intense than anything I had ever felt before in my life. Not only did I feel totally out of place and rumpled standing next to her, but she was looking at me like she expected me to _be her friend._ That was never going to happen. Ever. I hated her.

I felt my teeth grind together and my hands fisted inside my jacket pockets. It felt like an intense heat erupted along my shoulders and in my gut, and I felt myself start to shake slightly. I glared at her, and she actually took a step back, the look on her face alarmed. The other Cullen's looked just as surprised. Behind me, I could feel Jacob's own surprise and alarm.

"I wish I could say the same." My voice actually sounded like a growl.

"Gwen?" Jacob bent down to look at my face, but my eyes were only on Bella. "Are you…" he trailed off, gazing at me with a curious, apprehensive frown.

It took everything I had not to lunge at her and beat her face in. If she had been human I might have done it, but I knew how hard a vampires skin was, and I knew if I even attempted it I would only hurt myself. The idea was very tempting though.

"She's very angry, Jacob." Edward said calmly, wrapping one arm around Bella's shoulders protectively.

My eyes snapped to look at him. "What was your first clue? Did you use your mind reading powers to tell you that?" I snapped at him.

Before anyone could speak, the little girl came forward, her steps eager.

"Renesme!" Bella called in fear, making a move to grab her, but Edward held her back, giving his head a small shake when she looked at him.

The little girl, Renesme, was a very beautiful child. Jacob had told me she had been born while Bella had still been human, and happened to be one of the very, very few half-vampire children in the world. Besides the fact that she was way too beautiful to be normal, she looked like a regular human child. Peach skin, long curly reddish hair and big brown eyes that stared at me in childlike interest. I looked down at her, still feeling the boiling anger ripping through me.

Then she smiled shyly, sticking her hand out, like she wanted me to shake it. Bella made a sort of whimpering sound, putting her hands to her mouth and I wondered what her problem was. I reached out to take the hand she offered me when Jacob grabbed my wrist, causing both me and the little girl to frown.

"I don't think that's a good idea right now, Nessie." He said, smiling gently at her then glancing at me with a scrutinizing look.

"What's the problem?" I asked, narrowing my eyes as I looked at him, struggling to keep my voice even.

"Just, well…eh…Nessie doesn't really talk." He said, causing me to glare at him.

"So?" I asked tightly.

"Renesme doesn't usually speak unless absolutely necessary." Carlisle spoke up then, causing me to look up at him. He seemed intrigued as he watched us. "She prefers to communicate though touch."

"It's more complete to communicate that way than through words." Edward said. "It's more complete than anything words can say or express." He looked at Jacob with a disapproving frown. "Renesme only wants to greet her, Jacob. She's been very curious about Gwen since we explained to her you imprinted and what it means."

I looked around at everyone, my anger nearly evaporated, but irritation still quite clearly there. I looked up at Jacob, who still had a grip on my wrist. He seemed torn. I looked down at Nessie, who still had her hand sticking out, shifting on her feet. She was looking at Jacob now too, seeming, like me, irritated. And also a little impatient.

"God, Jacob." I scoffed, yanking my wrist out of his hand. "You can be so over protective sometimes. She's just a kid." I said, reaching for Nessie's hand.

Her skin was soft, and colder than normal, but nowhere near as cold as a vampire's icy skin. I gasped as an image came to mind of her grinning up at me. There were feelings there too, questions. She was very excited to finally see me, after hearing about me from Jacob, and she wanted to know why I was scared of her family and angry at her momma. She knew why I was there, and she was scared of those other vampires too. But she wasn't worried because she knew her family and Jacob would take care of everything. She really loved Jacob, and was sad when he left. He was one of her favorite people, besides her momma and daddy.

The images suddenly faded, and I staggered back into Jacob, feeling dizzy and disoriented.

"Whoa." I said, feeling Jacob's arms around me and everyone's eyes on me. "Talk about a rush."

"You okay?" Jacob asked, looking down at me with eyes full of concern. He touched me face gently. "Gwen?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." I said, pressing a hand to my forehead.

I looked down at Nessie, who was looking at me expectantly. I got the feeling it was because she expected answers to her questions. I couldn't help but smile at her slightly. She was in every way a little girl, curious about the things around her.

"Well, um, Nessie, um…" I felt really weird talking to this little girl while she simply stared at me. It was a little creepy. "Those bad vampires that are coming for me? They did something very bad to my friends, and I guess it caused me to be scared of all vampires. And as for your momma-"here I threw a disgusted, hate filled look at Bella, who looked at me with wide fightened eyes, hands clutched to her chest-"she did something that caused Jacob a lot of pain, and I'm very, very angry at her for that." I said, causing the whole room to tense and Bella's eyes to lower.

Nessie instantly stuck out her small hand again, but Edward stepped forward and gently took it to pull her away from me. Nessie looked at him, then back to me, her brown eyes inquiring.

"Esme, why don't you show Gwen her room?" Edward said, looking up at the female with the caramel hair.

Esme smiled, but I could see that it was edgy. It somehow made me feel good to know I was making all of them uncomfortable. It made me feel like I had power over them, and that I didn't have to be afraid of them. It made me feel good.

"Of course." She said pleasantly, reminding me of an airline hostess. "It's on the third floor."

Jacob placed a hand on my back and led me forward up the stairs. As we went I chanced a glance back at the others. Bella was still looking at the floor like a kicked dog and Edward was whispering something in her ear, his arms around her. The blonde (whose name I still hadn't caught I suddenly realized) was glaring at Jacob (who ignored her) and Emmett, Carlisle and Nessie had disappeared.

I faced forward, following Esme up the stairs, Jacob's hand still on my back. We went up two flights of stairs, and on the second floor I noticed a huge plaque slash picture frame thing filled with different colored squares. Each one had a button in the middle, and I frowned in puzzlement.

"Are those graduation caps?" I asked.

Downstairs, I swear I heard Emmett laugh.

* * *

><p>The room I was to stay in was huge. The bed was king sized and had a canopy of white and blue, with a matching blue comforter embroidered with some fancy pattern that looked like it should be in France. There was a large oak dresser and a huge dressing mirror, a full flat screen TV covering almost a whole wall on the other side of the bed. There was another door off to the side, which I assumed lead to a bathroom. The whole room looked like a suite in some fancy hotel in another country.<p>

Esme strode in, opening the curtains to the huge window that covered the back of the house.

"I'm sorry about the dust. I haven't really had time to clean lately." She said, turning to face us. "There are some spare clothes for you in the dresser, Jacob. Just in case." She smiled.

I examined the dresser, not seeing a speck of dust on it.

"Thanks, Esme." Jacob said quietly, causing me to look at him.

Esme nodded. "I'll leave you two alone for now. I think I'll go start lunch for the two of you, unless of course Seth hasn't emptied our refrigerator by now." She chuckled, walking toward the door.

I edged away from her as she passed me, feeling the coldness from her skin. She paused at the door, giving me a kind smile.

"We really are glad to have you here, Gwen. You don't have to be afraid of us; you are part of our family now. Just as Jacob is." And with that, she left, closing the door gently behind her.

I turned to look at Jacob, who was looking at me with a frown.

"Part of their family, huh?" I muttered, looking away from him and feel intensely uncomfortable after hearing her words. I didn't want to be part of their family in any way, shape or form.

"So what was that about?" Jacob asked.

"Huh?" I asked, looking back at him.

"If you're so angry at Bella why did you want to come here so badly? So you could lay into her?" he asked tightly.

I realized Jacob was mad at me, which made me mad. I felt myself bristle. "What are you talking about? I didn't lay into her." I scoffed, crossing my arms. "Believe me; you would know if I had."

"If I knew you were just going to make her feel bad I wouldn't have brought you here." He said, eyes narrowed.

I felt that hot anger in my chest again. "Why are you defending her?" I asked heatedly. "After everything she did to you? You should be angry at her!" I said, resisting the urge to stomp my foot like a child.

"And I was!" He said loudly. "But I got over it! If I can, why can't you?"

I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "I don't know. I don't know, Jacob. It's just every time I think about it, I just get so angry I want to explode."

Jacob's eyes widened. "Explode?"

I took another deep breath, feeling the anger starting to die down. "I hold grudges, Jacob. I always have. I can't stand it when my friends get hurt and I lash out at the people who did it. I'm angry at Bella because she hurt you so badly, and it's so intense I don't think anything she does, or even anything you do, can change that." I explained, massaging my eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted.

I heard Jacob inhale, walking over to me and wrapping his arms around me. He easily picked me up and carried me toward the bed, laying us both down on the cool sheets. They smelled of something minty and it relaxed me.

"Gwen. Have you ever thought about…being able to phase?" he asked tentatively.

I looked up at him, his question being so random it caught me off guard. "What?"

"You know your dad carries the wolf gene, right?" he asked, looking down at me.

"Um…maybe. I've never really thought about it. Why?" I asked, frowning.

"I was just thinking. Maybe the reason you get so angry is because you have the gene. And right now, with Bella, you got so angry I felt you shaking… maybe one day you really will just burst out of your skin." He said quietly, his voice shaking and haunted sounding.

"I don't…" I trailed off, feeling over whelmed. "You're telling me I might be a werewolf!"

The thought horrified me. I could handle dating a werewolf and being around them, but being one of them was where I drew the line. There was no way I would ever want to be anything but human.

"I don't know. It was just a thought I had a while ago. I mean, look at Leah. She's at least 6' 5", and you're only 5'1". When the change started we all shot up in only a few days. Our skin started to burn like we were sick and we all started getting these unbelievable urges to eat anything we could get our hands on." He whispered. There was a deep pause before he buried his face in my shoulder. "I don't ever want you to change, Gwen. You're perfect just the way you are." He whispered.

The thought of me being a werewolf was so outlandish I could barely prosess it. It felt like my brain was screaming "Does not compute!" over and over in my head. I knew the gene was on dad's side of the family, but I was only half Quileute. Didn't mom's genes dilute it or something?

We were silent for a while as I processed this, until Jacob started to chuckle. I looked down at him. The look on his face was smug.

"What's that look for?" I asked, flatly.

He looked down at me and grinned. "You were really pissed at Bella, weren't you?"

"Uh, yeah. Like I said to Edward, what was your first clue?" I said, attitude saturating my voice.

"Heh." Jacob rolled us over so he was hovering over me, his arms still wrapped around me and holding me in place. He leaned in close, so our lips just barely brushed against each other. He was looking at me with smoldering eyes and a roguish grin that made my stomach give birth to butterflies.

"The fact that you get so defensive is cute. You must really love me, huh?" he asked cockily.

Despite the fact that he was making my stomach do some serious acrobatics, I was proud to say I kept my cool.

I rolled my eyes and scoffed. "Sure I love you. Like maybe. Ninety-five percent sure."

He laughed. "And the other five percent?"

"A portion of my heart will always belong to that delicious substance called hot sauce."

He threw his head back and let out a bark-like laugh, swooping down to place a fiery kiss on my lips.

I tangled my fingers in his hair, feeling his tongue slowly trace my bottom lip. I shivered, feeling goose bumps erupt all over my skin despite the fact that his almost overwhelming heat was right on top of me. It might have something to do with the fact that his fingers were slowly tracing up and down my back, right along my spine. My heart started to pound as my stomach twisted with warmth.

He pulled away from my mouth for my neck, leaving me gasping for breath, placing soft but intense kisses along my throat. I whimpered, feeling the moist heat from his mouth when he gently bit the junction between my neck and shoulder. I felt his tongue gently caress over the spot and I gasped, wiggling against him.

"Jacob! Jacob, stop!"

"Hmm? What's the matter babe? Too much for you?" He asked, pulling back to peer down at me. He looked disgustingly pleased with himself.

I frowned. "You're an asshole. And don't call me babe or I'll hurt you."

He let out another laugh. He looked down at me, grinning. "You can be really adorable sometimes, Gwen. It's hilarious, since you always try to be tough but you look like someone who should be on the kindergarden playground."

"Oh, shut up. You can be so arrogant sometimes. It's annoying."

"But you still love me." He grinned, eyes actually looking happier than they had in days.

I looked away, feeling my face heat up slightly, much to my horror. "You do realize that they can probably hear us downstairs, right?" I grumbled.

Jacob shrugged, seeming unconcerned. "I bet it's more awkward for them to hear each other."

He leaned down so that he was laying gently a top of me again, his face centimeters from mine. "Besides, everyone knows we're together now. Hell, the whole pack knows what goes on in each other's bedrooms. In explicit detail." He said with a naughty grin.

I looked at him in mortification. "What? How do they know that?"

Jacob dropped the grin, giving me a flat look. "Pack mind, Gwen. I told you about this before, remember?"

"Oh. Right." I had completely forgotten. It still made me incredibly embarrassed though. Jacob realized this because he kissed my cheek sweetly and smiled.

"Don't worry about it. We're all pretty much used to it, so there's nothing to be embarrassed about. And besides"-he wiggled his eyebrows-"Paul and Sam are way worse than me. Some of those tricks might come in handy someday." He grinned.

I looked at him, not sure wither I should take him seriously or if he was just messing with me. Either way a thought had just occurred to me, and I grinned, running with it.

"Didn't Paul imprint on your sister? How's that like for you when he thinks about her?"

A look of horror and disgust washed over his face and he rolled off me, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes.

"Urg! Gwen! How could you make me think of them! That's just…urg!" he groaned, causing me to laugh.

We laid there together on the bed, staring at the canopy above us in silence. My thoughts were swirling, my head more full than I felt like I could handle.

I was here at the Cullen house, fighting an almost uncontrollable urge to go downstairs and punch Bella in the face, there were three killer vamps after me, plus the fact that Jacob had just laid it on me that I might have the chance of turning into a werewolf. How was I supposed to deal with all this? And I remember a time when I thought high school was bad.

"Hey Jacob. Tell me something." I said suddenly.

"Hmm?" he asked, looking over at me.

"How do you kill a vampire? I mean, their all so hard and strong. How do you do it?" I asked, turning to look at him as well.

He blinked his face growing dark. He turned his face back to look up at the canopy.

"The only way to do it is to rip them apart and set them on fire. Or else they could reattach the parts." He said gravely.

"So no stakes through the heart then?" I asked, turning to look out the window. "Huh. Bram Stoker lied."

Jacob snickered. "None of those stories are true, Gwen. You know that."

"…yeah." I sighed. "I know. It feels like if they were this would all be easier."

I felt Jacob take my hand and lace our fingers' together. It was a sweet, warming gesture and caused me to look at him. He pulled our hands up and kissed the back of mine, looking into my eyes.

"You know I'll do anything to protect you, Gwen. We all will. We all love you." He said sincerely. Then he shot me a goofy grin. "But you know I'm the one who loves you the most."

I love you. They were simple words that people said to each other every day, wither they meant them or not. But the way Jacob said them to me, they were so full of more meaning than just those three simple words could convey. The feelings they made in my heart would have made me scoff and throw up a little if I hadn't been the one feeling them. As it was, it had never crossed my mind that I would one day hear them the way Jacob said them to me.

I smiled, feeling my heart swell. "I love you too, Jacob." I said, causing him to smile widely.

It was an incredibly mushy and disgusting moment, and if had seen this in a movie I probably would have gagged. But as usual, I didn't care.

And, as all good things usually do, it came to an end in a blazing fire. Loud angry howls erupted outside, and our door flew open, reveling a tiny female vampire standing there, her expression shocked.

"I didn't see them until the last minute." She said whispered apologetically.

Jacob shot up and ran out the door, past Esme, who was suddenly standing there with Rename in her arms. "Stay with her!" he yelled, racing down the stairs.

I jumped up to follow, but the two females blocked my way. "Jacob!" I yelled in panic.

"It's okay, Gwen." The little vampire said. "There are only two of them outside and their only here to talk."

I looked down at her angrily. "I want to see."

Esme shook her head, placing Nessie on the bed. She looked scared and had a small stuffed rabbit in her arms.

"We can't let you go out there, Gwen. It's for your own safety." Esme said, sounding almost apologetic, but with a motherly tone that was final.

Esme and the small vampire took up stances near the window and the door, like silent sentinels. Nessie scooted closer to me, her little face worried and scared. I gritted my teeth and plopped on the bed, my heart pounding and ears straining for any sounds of a fight. I didn't hear a thing.

I wanted to know what was going on out there, to at least look out the window. But I had a feeling the little vampire standing there wouldn't let me get anywhere near it. I was starting to regret my decision to come to them. The Cullen's were really taking this seriously.

**Third POV**

"Oh, look Maxwell. There's so many of them."

The voice that spoke sounded like breaking glass to the wolves' ears. A harsh, yet beautiful sound. A sound that made you say "Oh, shit. What happened and is anyone hurt?"

It came from an averaged sized woman, probably no more than twenty years old. She was thin and beautiful, with milky white skin and straight yellow hair down to the middle of her back. She was dressed in a black Lolita style gothic dress, with black stiletto boots. A black lacy ribbon was pinned to her hair, and if her red eyes weren't so evil and mocking looking, she would have been a pervert's wet dream.

She stood with one arm draped lazily over another vampire's shoulder, the same blonde male that the pack had been encountering. He seemed bored, staring off into space, not saying a word. Edward watched him closely, a slight intent frown on his face.

The female smiled, the edge of menace clearly showing. "I'm so very pleased to finally meet all of you face to face." She said politely. Her voice had a slight southern accent, like something from Gone with the Wind. "My name is Gloria Harkness. This is my brother, Maxwell." She said, gesturing to herself and the bored blond at her side.

Jacob took a step forward, his fists clenched tight at his side and his expression murderous. The two vampires stood in the clearing right in front of the house, surrounded by the Cullen's and his own pack. When he saw how confident the two vamps still were, knowing they were surrounded on all sides, he almost wished Sam's pack was also there, but only for a moment. They had all agreed Sam's pack would stay back and guard La Push, and Jacob was confident his pack and the Cullen's would be all it took to catch these bloodsuckers.

"I don't give a fuck who you are. Why do you want Gwen? What is she to you?" he growled.

Gloria tapped her bottom lip, looking thoughtful. Finally she smiled at him and it took everything Jacob had to not phase on the spot.

"To me personally she is nothing but a meal. To Maxwell here, she is less than that. But to our other companion, she is very, very precious." Gloria said. "Dennis would like her to accompany us, you see."

Jacob felt a ripple of anger go through him at those words. How could they talk about her like that? There would be no way in hell he would let these sick leech bastards take Gwen from him.

Carlisle spoke then, something Jacob was grateful for. He thought if he opened his mouth he might lose it; he couldn't do that, not yet.

"Why is that?" Carlisle asked, his tone calm and inquiring.

Gloria, still smiling, answered. "He's been in love with her. Apparently the poor thing had a hard time as a human and the girl helped him on occasion. We're here to change her for him. If you would be so kind as to hand her over, we will be on our way."

Jacob lost it. "The hell you will!" he bellowed, leaping at the two.

He was phased in less than a blink of an eye, but the two had already disappeared. He and the rest of the pack took off after the scent, ignoring Edward's yells for them to come back. He didn't care if it was useless and the scent started to thin out, he would find them for what they did to her. He would tear every single one of them to shreds.

* * *

><p><strong>So there it is. We found out why the vamps are after Gwen, but I'm sure most of you had it figured out already.<strong>

**I'm planning the next couple of chapters to be longer, but there's still the fact that it seems like all my professors got together and were like, "Hey, here's an idea! Let's all give her a bunch of exams and presentation projects to do these next few months, all due on the same day! Won't that be fun?" The point I'm trying to make here is that updates might slow down a bit. I was trying to update once a week, but I might not be able to right now. But I will try!**

**The good news is that this story is actually almost over! Can you believe it? I'm sad, but at the same time I'm kind of happy too, because it will be the first story I finish that I'm not doing for a grade! Yay!**

**In the next chapter Jacob and his pack are spending a lot of time hunting for the vamps, and Bella and Gwen have a 'friendly' little chat. Also, Seth has an encounter with the one vampire we have yet to see, and someone may not come out alive…**

**Review please!**

**P.S. Thanks to all of you who answered my call for blonde jokes. Some of them were really funny and made me smile :)**


	17. Confront

**I'M BACK! REJOYCE MY FRIENDS! **

**No, but really, I'm terribly sorry for this chapter taking so, so long. As you all know, my computer crashed, and I unfortunately lost EVERYTHING. My hard drive was completely fried, and everything had been wiped out, including chapter seventeen. After that I was just so depressed, I couldn't write. Not to mention that there was a lot of waiting to get my computer fixed (it's a long story, involving my mom, her friend and a cousin who could fix computers but never seemed to be coming back from vacation :/) But anyway, a good friend of mine finally fixed it and even put in a new hard drive for me, even though it's only like, 30 GB, but it's better than nothing. **

**I had to struggle to remember everything I had written for this chap, and I hope I got it all down. Of course, it's not exactly the same, and I'm not as happy with it as I was with it before it got erased, but I guess it will do.**

**This is an early Labor Day present, and I made it extra long (20 pages, 7,984 words) to make it up to you!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, but I do own Gwen, and this story line. So ask if you want to borrow her first, kay? Or I'll have to sic Max on you, right Max?**

**Max: …**

**Right, sorry. I've gotten kind of attached to Max's character for some reason. I'm thinking of making him show up more. ^^**

* * *

><p><em>The joy of life is variety. The tenderest of love requires to be renewed by intervals of absence- Samuel Johnson<em>

_We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm- George Orwell_

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><p>"Oh, hold still will you?" Alice sighed, dragging a brush through my hair.<p>

I sighed, blowing out a puff of air in annoyance. I sat in front on her rather large mirror, trying not to squirm while she prettied me up. Not that I didn't appreciate the distraction, it was just that I hadn't really got much sleep in the past few days. My patience was running thin.

It had been two days since the three vamps had visited the Cullen's, and two days since I had properly seen Jacob. He and Leah seemed to be the only one's of the pack that didn't take breaks. The pack and the Cullen's had made something of a schedule on who would take patrols around the area, and the only time I knew Jacob was in the house was when he finally came to bed at night. I was usually semi-conscious, and only vaguely aware of him crawling into bed next to me. By the time I would wake up in the morning, he would already be back outside.

I was just so stressed out. I had not really been eating that much, and the only reason I ate what I did was because Esme practically forced it down my throat. I found out of all the Cullen's, Esme reminded me the most of a mom. It was a strange thought, a vampire mom.

I spent most of my time up in the room the Cullen's let me borrow, down in the living room (that was usually to play video games with either Emmet or one of the pack boys, or even Nessie) or in Carlisle's study. He didn't seem to mind me prowling through his enormous (and ancient) book collection, and I actually found that Carlisle was the only one of the Cullen's I could actually stand. Out of all of them, he seemed the most, and I know this is completely peridoxal, but he seemed the most human. I found myself actually liking him.

I liked Nessie too, and to my surprise, she seemed to like me as well. She followed me around and often sat with me, sometimes touching me to ask a question or to tell me about her day, something I noticed that Bella didn't like very much, if the look of an over-protective mother she threw was anything to go by. I didn't normally like kids that much, but Nessie was the exception. She wasn't full of energy and didn't demand that I play with her like some kids I knew, and although she was a little spoilt, she wasn't a brat. She was a sweetie, and I could see why the Cullen's seemed to treasure her like they did.

"Alright!" Alice chirped cheerfully, putting down the curling iron on her dressing table. "All done. Now we just have to pick out your outfit for today, and do your makeup." She smiled at me in the mirror.

I glowered at her, noting how in the background Nessie giggled and Rosalie smirked.

The two of them had followed after Alice had abducted me this morning, declaring that she would be dressing me for the day. I hadn't fought her on it, only because I was still groggy with sleep and wouldn't have had the energy to anyway. They now sat behind us on Alice and Jasper's large bed (What did they need a bed for? I knew vampires didn't sleep… maybe I better not think on it too much.) Nessie clutched her stuffed rabbit to her chest, watching with wide eyes, while Rosalie sat next to her, arms and legs crossed, a smug look on her obscenely beautiful face. I had decided two days ago that I didn't like her.

"Let's see…" Alice pulled the chair out and pulled it around, tapping her lips as she examined me with a critical eye. "…Hmm, I think you're more of a spring. You have a light caramel skin tone; soft color will look good on you. What do you think Rosalie?" She asked, turning to the blonde.

Said blonde wrinkled her nose. "I think you should give her something you don't expect back. She reeks of mutt."

I scowled at her. "I showered. I don't smell like anything but Dove."

Alice chuckled at our expressions, while Nessie smiled sweetly. "Don't worry about her." The petite vampire said. "She's just grumpy because the pack is roaming around and their scent is all over the place. You should know that Jacob's scent is all over you." She said with a smile.

"And you don't like it." I said plainly, a bit puzzled.

"You know how wet dogs smell bad to humans? Amplify that by a thousand and then add the smell of rotting meat to it." Rosalie bit out. "You smell horrible." She sneered.

Yeah, I really didn't like her.

I scoffed, turning back to Alice and flipped my hair back in Rosalie's direction, hoping she got a whiff.

"Well sorry," I sneered back, "We can't all smell minty fresh."

"Hmp." Rosalie huffed, standing. "I'm leaving. I can't stand the reek in here any longer." She strode toward the door, head held high as she disappeared.

"Well isn't she just a little princess." I muttered as Alice and Nessie laughed.

"Don't let it bother you too much." Alice said. "We're all pretty much used to the pack's scent by now. Rosalie just has her pride to think about. Now don't move; I'm going to go pick out an outfit for you."

I watched as she disappeared into her walk in closet (which was as big as my bedroom. Life really isn't fair.) Nessie still sitting on the bed, playing with her rabbit in contentment. I glanced out the window into the woods in silence, thinking back to three days ago.

Flashback

_It had been four hours since the pack had returned from trying to track down the two vampires that had made their appearance. All of us, minus Leah (who refused to set foot in the Cullen's household) and Jasper, sat gathered in the Cullen's larger living room. I noticed that the pack sat on one side of the room, close to me and Jacob, while the Cullen's sat gathered on the other. Edward stood in the middle, looking for the entire world like he was some sort of important politician about to give a big speech. Jacob sat next to me, one arm wrapped around my back, holding me to his side. Bella sat on his other side, much to my distaste, Nessie sitting in her arms. _

"_While Jacob was speaking to her, I was able to find out the motives for the three's interest in Gwen." Edward said, his eyes briefly flickering to me._

_I felt Jacob tense next to me._

"_Well spit it out!" Quil snapped, tossing his hands in the air, and earning a glare from Rosalie._

_Edward closed his eyes, sighing like he was tired. "She was telling the truth. One of the three is very…attached to Gwen. He wants her."_

_Jacob started to shiver next to me, a low growl forming in his chest. I looked up at him in slight alarm. His eyes were narrowed into space, burning with barely controlled rage. _

"_Jake…" Bella whispered in concern, placing a white hand on his arm. Her gold eyes looked at him like her non-beating heart was braking, her beautiful face twisted like she was being tortured._

_That hot feeling of intense hatred erupted in my chest again, my eyes narrowing at her. I know I said before that I would never wish to be anything but human, but at that moment I truly would have given anything to phase and tear her arm off._

_But instead I took a deep breath and put a hand on Jacob's back._

"_Jacob, calm down. Take a breath." I said, rubbing his back._

_He instantly relaxed, taking a breath like I had asked him, although his eyes were still narrowed off into space. I couldn't help the smirk that came to my face, knowing that it was my touch, not Bella's, that had calmed him down. I tried not to feel too smug, but it was hard._

"_Edward." Carlisle spoke up. "Where you able to find out anything else?"_

_Edward nodded. "Yes." He turned back to the rest of us. "The three of them, Gloria and Maxwell Harkness, as well as Dennis Philipps, are nomadic. Both Gloria and Maxwell are a few hundred years old, while Dennis was only born about a year ago. Gloria is the clear leader of the three, although Maxwell is the voice of reason. He honestly does not care about any of this. He has no interest in Gwen at all."_

"_But what about the other two? You said that one leech wants her?" Embry asked, frowning as he leaned against a foot rest, arms crossed over his thick chest._

_Edward nodded again. "Yes. From what I was able to pick up from Gloria's mind, he has wanted her since they knew each other in high school. He meant to take her that day in the ally, but Gloria and Maxwell had held him back, afraid he would kill her. Now Dennis has more control, and is eager to come get her himself. The only reason he hasn't is because of Gloria."_

"_Is she stopping him?" I asked. "Why?"_

"_Because she thinks this is a game." Edward frowned. "She is very much like James." Here he sent a pointed look at Bella, who seemed to get paler, if that was possible. "She enjoys the thrill of the hunt, and the fact that you have so many…err…bodyguards around you, well, she was absolutely giddy at the prospect of obtaining you." He finished, looking at me with piercing gold eyes._

"_A game? She thinks this is a game! That sick bitch!" Quil exclaimed in disgust, his hands forming tight fists._

_Jacob tensed again next to me, his hand on my hip becoming almost painfully tight as he held me, but I ignored it in favor of rubbing his back again, trying to keep him relaxed. _

"_Were you able to find out about that one with the power?" Seth, who had been sitting at my feet in silence this whole time, spoke up._

"_Yeah, Edward, how much fun are we going to have here?" Emmett asked. He sat in the window seat with Rosalie, a cocky grin on his face._

_Jacob growled at him. "Nothing about this is fun." He snapped, growling through his teeth now._

_Rosalie was instantly on her feet, teeth bared. "Watch yourself, you fleabag." She snarled lowly._

_The whole room had gone quiet and tense as Jacob growled louder, his hands forming fists. He looked like he was about to snap any second._

"_Jacob." I breathed._

_I instantly put myself in his lap (my back to Bella) and wrapped my arms around his neck, threading one hand through his hair. He instantly stilled, but it was out of shock more than_ _anything. I had never been very affectionate toward him in public, but this was an emergency. Him losing his temper and getting into a fight with a Cullen in their house was the last thing we needed right now._

_I felt him wrap his arms around my waist and pull me close, still threading my fingers through his hair. My heart was pounding, but I forced myself to stay calm. If I was calm, it might help him stay calm too._

"_You need to control your temper. You can rage around outside later, but right now you need to relax so we can talk about this. I know this is upsetting you, but the pack fighting with the Cullen's is the last thing we need right now." I whispered in his ear. "Please calm down."_

_A few tense moments passed with Jacob breathing hard, until he finally stilled. He nodded. _

"_I'm alright. I got this." He breathed._

_I looked into his eyes a moment, still seeing anger there, but it was tame, under control. I nodded and turned back to Edward, who was watching us with an observing stare._

"_We were talking about their powers?" I said, looking at him._

_Edward nodded in understanding. "It seems Gloria has no powers, aside from the norm. However, as you know Maxwell has some sort of ability that has rendered you unable to catch him." He paused, thinking._

_I frowned, annoyed with his dramatic affects. "Which is…?"_

_He sighed, shrugging. "He is simply extremely fast."_

_There was a pregnant pause in which everyone in the room processed what he had just said. Then-_

"_What!?"_

"_What do you mean he just really fast?!"_

"_You better give us more than that Edward! I haven't had a good fight since the Volturi where coming! I was looking forward to this!"_

"_What the hell! Have your mind reading powers gone stupid?!"_

_Those four were Quil, Embry, Emmett and myself. _

_Edward put his hands up in a mollifying gesture, actually looking a bit sheepish._

"_Sorry. That was just the simplest way I could explain his powers. If you want a more scientific explanation, he has the ability to control tachyon particles."_

"_Tachyon particles?" Emmett asked, looking confused. "Explain it so the rest of us simple people can understand, brainiac." He scowled, crossing his arms._

_A corner of Edward's mouth twitched upward, and I thought of how much of a prick he was being. Carlisle stepped forward. _

"_I will explain." He said, sounding like a college professor. "Tachyon particles are hypothetical particles that move faster than light. Most physicists think that tachyon particles do not exist because they are not constant with the known laws of physics. No evidence of their existence has ever been found. However, what is interesting about tachyon particles is that it is thought that their speed actually increases as they slow down. Einstein and many others have hypothesized that if we could harness them, tachyon particles could be used to communicate back in time."_

_There was absolute silence._

"_I didn't get any of that." Quil muttered to Embry._

"_So he's traveling in time?" Esme, who had been standing with Carlisle in silence, spoke up hesitantly._

_Carlisle smiled at her, chuckling. "No, he can't. There are many reasons as to why, but the main fact is that Maxwell has the ability to manipulate them enough so that he can move at the speed of light, and that is the reason you have been unable to catch him. It's quite an extraordinary gift." He cupped his chin in thought. "I wonder why Aro has not recruited him?"_

"_Maybe he's tried but the bastard is too fast for even Aro!" Emmett guffawed like an idiot, earning a smack to the back of the head from Rosalie. _

"_Let's not talk about him. This isn't about the Volturi." Bella said as she shifted Nessie in her arms, a slight sneer of disgust on her face._

_Edward cleared his throat. "Yes, well, Gloria and Dennis have been using Maxwell to come in and out of La Push since they found Gwen. He's been spying on you."_

"_And what about Dennis? Does he have any powers?" I asked hesitantly._

_Edward looked at me. "Unfortunately I was not able to find that out. Both Gloria and Maxwell were not thinking about him much beyond the fact that he is focused on you."_

"_Well damn." Emmett said, a wide grin stretching his face. "Looks like this is going to be more interesting than I thought."_

End flashback

I sighed, rubbing my temples as I felt a headache forming. How where we suppose to catch someone who could move at the speed of light?

I felt a soft pat on my arm and looked down at Nessie, looking up at me with big brown eyes. I smiled at her.

"I'm okay. Just a little worried."

She touched my bare arm, assuring me that her family and the pack would take care of everything. I smiled at her again when she pulled away.

"I know."

"Alright! Here we go Gwen! You will look amazing in these." Alice skipped out of her closet, carrying a few bundles of cloth, which she tossed at me. "Change." She commanded.

I sighed, looking at what she had giving me. A pair of ripped blue jean shorts, a form fitting powder blue long sleeved shirt with some sort of decal printed on it, stripped grey and white scarf, and a few long dangly necklaces. I looked up at her.

"Are you serious?" I asked.

She looked puzzled. "Why wouldn't I be? Those are perfect for you! Now go on! Try them on!"

I sighed again in exasperation, hearing Nessie giggle next to me. A minute later I was dressed and sitting in the chair again, this time while Alice did my makeup.

"Now hold still." Alice said, gripping my chin as she lined my eyes, "I would hate to impale your eyes."

"Please don't." I replied.

A few moments passed in silence as I felt her hand on my chin. Her hands were small and rock hard, cold as ice. I knew she was being extremely gentle with me, that she was holding back her strength, but I could still feel how incredibly strong she was. Like she could crush my jaw into dust if the feeling took her. It reminded me of that night Gloria was holding me up like a ragdoll. I swallowed thickly, trying not to think about it and show how uncomfortable I was with her touching me.

"Hey Alice? You can see the future right?" I asked, glad my voice didn't betray my uneasiness.

"Uh huh." She replied, the tip of her tongue poking out of her mouth as she concentrated on my eye. I could feel her cool breath on my face, smelling of fresh air. In the back of my head I was thankful I couldn't smell any blood.

"Can you see how this will all turn out?" I asked quietly, looking up at the ceiling.

She frowned, the corners of her mouth turned downward. "The future is a very fickle thing." She said in a serious voice. "It shifts and changes with every decision and move a person makes. It's never set in stone."

"So no, is basically what you are telling me."

She smiled at me sadly. "I'm sorry, but it's hard to tell, especially since I can't see the pack or the three we're looking for."

I jerked away from her, looking at her wide eyed. She pouted. "Oh, why did you do that? Now I have to do that one all over again!"

"What do you mean you can't see the pack or the three? How?"

She stood up straight, looking me in the eyes with a patient stare.

"I can only see the people I know well, like my family. If Esme sent Emmett up here with a sandwich for you, I would see him coming up the stairs with it. But if she sent Rosalie, I would see her instead. People I know and are close to are easy. I have been keeping an eye on the three, but they seem like they make their decisions sporadically, on a whim. We don't know why I can't see the wolves, but whenever I try I just come up blank. It's the same with you and the other imprints. And Nessie. I can't see any of you. It's just one big blank." She explained, an annoyed frown on her lips the whole time, her hands on her hips.

I got the feeling she didn't like not being able to see people.

"So you can't see me at all?" I asked, fascinated.

She nodded. "Not you, or any of the other imprints. Basically anyone close to the pack."

"And Nessie? You said you can't see her." I asked, glancing at the little girl who stood by my elbow.

"That's right. I think that really worries Bella sometimes. I can't constantly keep an eye on her."

I leaned back in my chair, not realizing that I had been leaning toward her as she spoke. I rubbed my temples again.

"Man." I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut. "This whole thing is insane."

"Anymore questions?" Alice asked with a sweet grin.

"Not at the moment, but I'm sure I'll think of something else later." I said, giving her a blank look.

She nodded. "Alright then. Just let me finish your makeup and then you can go downstairs." She took my chin in her hand again and I tried not to flinch away. "I have to say," she said with a cheerful smile. "You are a much more willing Barbie doll than Bella was."

I rolled my eye with a groan. "Glad that I could one up her on something." I muttered distastefully.

About ten minutes later I was trudging down the stairs and into the kitchen, seeing Esme at the stove, and both Emmett and Seth at the table. They all looked up when I came in. Emmett grinned at me.

"You look terrible, tiny."

I glowered at him. He was sitting across from Seth in a small sliver of sunlight that came through the thick cloud cover. His skin was throwing rainbows on the hard oak table he sat at.

"I did not just spend the last hour in Alice's clutches for you to tell me that." I grumbled. "Oh, and by the way, you sitting in the sun like that make you look like an over grown preschooler covered in glitter glue."

Yeah, my comeback was completely lame, but Emmett snickered. Esme smiled at me as I passed her.

"You look lovely Gwen."

"Thanks." I muttered, taking a seat next to Seth. I intended to have something to eat, but when I saw him eating I instantly lost my appetite.

The kid had a whole Las Vegas buffet spread out in front of him. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, burgers, potato chips, various vegetables, and other food items made their way down Seth's throat like they were caught in a black hole. Which, I realized, with their appetites, the pack wasn't too far from being. I watched in amazement as he downed a full carton of orange soda in three gulps.

"Are you breathing at all, Seth?" I asked.

He looked at me, mouth full and a puzzled look in his eyes. He swallowed hard before he spoke.

"Yeah. Why?"

"…No reason."

"Are you hungry at all, Gwen? I can make you something if you would like." Esme asked kindly.

"No thanks. I don't have much of an appetite anymore." I said, looking away from the wolf at my side.

"You should eat, Gwen. You barely had anything yesterday." Seth pointed out with a pout.

Before I could answer I heard the front door open and close, then two new voices entered the kitchen. I tried not to get too irritated as I heard Bella speak.

"We're back! Emmett, it's your turn to patrol." She said.

Emmett jumped up so quickly I actually would have fallen out of my chair in surprise if Seth hadn't grabbed me. I shot him an annoyed look as he whooped.

"Finally! I was getting tired of sitting around all day!" he exclaimed, walking toward Edward, who was standing by the door. He gave him a friendly punch. "You and Jasper have been hogging all the fun!"

"Emmett this is serious." Bella scolded, crossing her arms. "Gwen is in real danger here."

I gritted my teeth, brisling. Next to me, Seth patted my shoulder, giving me a smile.

"There has not been any sign of them since three days ago, Emmett." Edward reminded him. "They could appear at any time, and with Alice not being able to see them clearly, we should all have our guards up."

Emmett waved away their concerns with a hand. "You two are buzz kills. At least Jasper's more into this than you two are."

That may or may not have been true. I had barely seen the brooding blonde vampire that was Alice's mate. Every time we were in the same room together he stayed as far away from me as possible. He was okay; he didn't irritate me like the others whenever he spoke. Although I did agree with Jacob; Jasper did seem a little emo.

I felt Emmett's eyes on my back. "See ya, tiny. Try not to do anything funny while I'm gone!"

I sighed, putting my elbow on the table and holding my head. Something about humans (or maybe it was just me) greatly amused Emmett. It was irritating, but I knew he wasn't being haughty whenever he laughed or teased me. It was more like he was watching his favorite comedian on Comedy Central. Even so, I could do without it, especially now.

"You should eat something, Gwen." Seth said suddenly, pushing a few pieces of fried chicken over at me. "I'll be going out to patrol soon, and then Jasper and Quil are coming in. You should eat this before Quil gets back." He whispered in a consprerating tone.

I wrinkled my nose down at it. "I really don't want it Seth."

"You should eat, Gwen. Jacob will be upset if you don't." Bella said, coming over and taking Emmett's empty seat.

I glared at her. "Mind your own business, ice cube." I snapped.

It was silent as Esme and Seth started to clean up the mess he had made. I didn't know where Edward had disappeared to, but I wished he had taken his wife with him. Seth came over and smiled down at me cheerfully.

"I'm going to go play video games until I have to go. If you don't eat that," he gestured down at the food in front of me. "I'll tell Jake."

I glowered up at him. "Who do you think Jacob is, my keeper? If anything I'm his!"

Seth snickered. "That's probably true. But really, eat okay? You won't be as grumpy if you do."

Then he swooped down and gave me a bone crushing hug as I squirmed feebly in his grasp. He released me and I swatted at him, but he just dodged away, bounding into the next room, laughing.

I huffed, looking down at the cold chicken on my plate. "Whoever than kid imprints on is going to be a really lucky girl." I murmured.

"You're really lucky too, Gwen. Jacob seems to really love you." Bella spoke up across from me.

I didn't look up at her, poking at my chicken. "What would you know about it?"

It was silent for a moment. "Why are you so angry at me?" she asked quietly.

I snapped my head up at her, looking at her in disbelief. "Are you seriously asking me that question right now?"

She swallowed, looking down at the table, eyes closed. She actually looked at little pitiful. I bet artists would draw each other's blood to get a chance to paint her at this moment.

"I know what I did to Jacob was awful. I still feel horrible about it, even now. But I needed Jacob. If you knew how hard it was when Edward left…" she trailed off.

"I know the story." I said, frowning at her. "Jacob told me all about it. How Edward left you and all that." I looked back down at my plate. "What I don't get is why you lead Jacob on the way you did."

"I didn't lead him on!" Bella gasped, seeming surprised. "Jake knew I still had feelings for Edward."

"Jacob told me that you told him you loved him at one point. But it wasn't enough. Is that true?" I asked, looking back up at her.

She looked back down at the table. "Yes."

I smiled bitterly. "That's called leading someone on, ice cube. The best thing you could have done for Jacob was stay away from him and take care of yourself."

Bella looked up at me, her gold eyes suddenly blazing. "I don't need to explain myself to you." She said in a cold hiss. "You have no idea what it was like when Edward left, when he told me he didn't want me. I saw the way you and Jake look at each other. If he did the same thing you would feel the same way I did."

She looked angry. But for some reason, I wasn't afraid for her. It because I was angry too, I realized. I was angry that I was going to have to explain all this to her, angry that she was so clueless that she didn't even realize what she did. I was too angry to feel afraid of her.

I took a deep breath. "Maybe." I said calmly. "Maybe I would be depressed for a long time. In fact I know I would be. But I'm not like you, Bella. I wouldn't just go crying to my best friend every day. It's because I love Jacob that I would keep going. And,"- here I took a deep breath, ordering my thoughts, - "even if Edward really didn't want you, you should have been strong enough to live for _yourself_. That's why I don't like you. Because you leaned on Jacob and caused him horrible pain, and then when you and Edward were together again, you didn't give Jacob a second thought. You didn't even try to move on."

"I did try." Bella said, her voice so low I had to practically lean forward to hear her. "I tried every day." She paused, seeming hesitant. "But then Edward went to the Volturi, and I couldn't let him kill himself."

I nodded. "I get that." I said, picking at my still untouched chicken. "I would try to stop Jacob from killing himself, even if he did leave me. But I wouldn't have just gone back to him. I would have made him grovel on all fours if he wanted me back. And even then I don't know if I would take him. I would just be too angry."

"I hope that never happens then." Bella said her voice stone cold again. "That's a cruel thing to do to someone who loves you."

I shrugged. "Love is cruel. You should know that better than anyone. All those bullshit sayings that love is kind and never jealous and whatever else. I can't think of anything else that has cost more lives and broken hearts than love."

We were silent then, Bella sitting still as a statue and me picking at the chicken, which I still didn't want to eat. There was one more thing I wanted to ask her.

"Do you ever regret becoming a vampire?" I asked quietly.

"No. It's what I wanted ever since I met Edward." She responded without hesitation.

I nodded. "I just ask because I've thought about it a lot, especially in the last few days. I don't ever want to be a vampire." I said. "The thought terrifies me."

Bella nodded in understanding, but her face was smooth, blank. "Because of Jacob." She said, looking into space.

"Not just him." I sighed, looking past her, out the rain splattered window behind her. I could see into the thick woods behind the house, catching a glimpse of chocolate fur I recognized as Quil.

"Then why?" Bella asked, looking at me now with curious gold eyes.

"Vampires have a lot going for them." I said, still watching the forest. "Super senses, strength, speed, some even have powers. It's something out of a comic book. All that might be cool, but it's the immortality that scares me." I said, pulling my gaze back to Bella.

She frowned, her white forehead creasing. "Why does that scare you? Most people would give anything to live forever."

I looked at her in disbelief. "It doesn't scare you? I mean, at first, it might seem like something worth going for, but once you think about, it's truly terrifying." I said, looking away from her again and licking my lips.

"You just…live and live and live, watching as the people close to you age and die, as the whole world changes, while you always stay the same. And after awhile, even the memories you have of the people you loved start to fade. For a vampire, all they do is eat and live. It sounds incredibly hard to me, hellish even…that's not something I would ever want for myself." I whispered. "Eternity is incredibly long if you really think about it. How old is the earth? Billions and billions of years old." I gave a scoff. "Can you imagine living that long? I'd go insane." I said, shaking my head.

I looked up at Bella when she didn't say anything. She sat there as still as a statue, her face smooth and blank, but her eyes were wide, almost…scared looking. She wasn't even breathing, which was a little unsettling for me, but I brushed it off. I leaned back in my chair, watching her in silence, until another thought popped in my head.

"What about Nessie? Will she live that long with you? From what Jacob told me, she ages very fast doesn't she?" I asked quietly.

I blinked, and in that second I felt a gust of icy air rush past me, fluttering my hair around my face. When I finally brushed it out of my face and looked up, Bella was gone.

* * *

><p>About an hour later I was in the living room, playing chess with Carlisle. I was loosing of course. Quil and Jasper were back from their patrol, Esme and Seth taking their places, and now they actually sat together in front of the T.V., playing some video game. Edward sat on the couch watching them in silence, his face blank. I had a feeling he wasn't watching at all. I had no idea where Bella had run off too, and I found I didn't care. I had made my point, but it bothered me a little how cruel I was to her. I was never intentionally cruel to anyone. I had just kept rubbing salt into the wounds. I briefly wondered if vampires could cry. But then I quickly pushed it away; she deserved it.<p>

Across from me, I noticed Edwards eyes flash to my face, and I glanced at him, sending him a dirty look.

_Mind your own business Edward._

He looked away from me, staring blankly at the T.V. again.

"Checkmate." Carlisle said, bring me back to the game.

I scowled. "I suck at this game."

Carlisle chuckled. "Not at all. You just need practice." His gold eyes went to my right arm. "Is your arm bothering you?"

I looked down at it, not realizing I had been rubbing it. It had only recently healed up, even though it had been a few weeks since that dog had mauled me. There were a few jagged ugly scares going up my forearm, as well as a few on my fingers. Jacob had grimaced when he saw them, apologizing to me. I had smacked him for that, telling him it wasn't his fault. I actually kind of liked them. It made me feel like I had done epic battle and lived, like the one I had across my chest. I told Jacob this and he had forced a sad smile.

"No, it's fine." I said, moving the chess pieces around. I looked up at him. "Want to play again?"

* * *

><p><strong>Seth POV<strong>

_"When do you think those vampires will come back?"_ I asked, looking up at the full moon above me.

The night was weirdly clear tonight, so I could actually see some stars filtering across the sky. A cold wind blew by, ruffling my fur, but I barely felt it. I took a few sniffs, smelling nothing but clear, clean air. The only traces of vampire I could smell were Emmett, Alice, Rosalie and Esme, who were out patrolling with us. Their scents were all faint, so I knew they were all a few miles away. The pack patrolled a bit closer to the house; Jake wanted us to stay close to where Gwen was.

_"Soon I hope."_ Embry responded. _"I don't know about you, but I'm ready to go home."_

_"They better show up soon."_ Leah growled. "_I'm so tired of being around these leeches. The stink will never go away."_

_"I feel bad for Gwen."_ I said, leaning down and sniffing the base of a nearby tree. A flash of her stressed face went through my head._ "She's trying to hide it, but I_ _can tell she's worried. She misses you, Jake."_

Jake didn't say anything, but visions of Gwen's face went through his head, her smiling at him, laughing, and then her crying, that night she begged him to take her to the Cullen's. His emotions were painful to feel, and I couldn't help the small whimper that came out.

_"Just go inside and sit with her for awhile, man."_ Embry said. _"You've been out here non-stop since the other night."_

_"Yeah, Jake!"_ I exclaimed. _"I bet she'll be really happy to see you!"_

The thought of Gwen happy made me feel better. I liked all the imprints (Emily made the best pies, and Kim wasn't bad at it either. I liked playing with Claire.) but Gwen was my favorite. She was like a big sister now, I felt like I could tell her anything.

_"Hey!"_ Leah snapped. _"Don't forget you have a real big sister here, you little shit."_

I laughed, knowing she didn't mean half of the mean things she said.

_"The hell I don't."_ She grumbled.

_"I tell you lots of stuff, Leah."_ I said, shaking off a few twigs that got tangled in my fur.

_"Half of which I wish you wouldn't."_ she replied, an image of me singing into a hair brush flashing through her head.

I gasped, a feeling of embarrassment washing over me as Embry started to laugh.

_"Leah!"_ I exclaimed in horror. _"You promised you wouldn't tell anyone!"_

_"Oh."_ She paused. _"Sorry, kid."_ She wasn't really.

_"Guys, I'm going inside."_ Jake suddenly said, the urge to see Gwen finally taking over._ "I'll be back in an hour."_

_"Just stay inside."_ Leah hissed. _"You're bringing us down with all your brooding crap. Just go see her already and keep your screwed up emotions away from us."_

_"We'll handle it Jake. No worries man."_ Embry chimed in.

_"Tell her I said hi!"_ I called, feeling him phase back.

It was silent then, Leah and Embry's minds were quiet, focused on patrolling. I glanced around the area I was patrolling. It was a pretty big part, about ten miles out from the Cullen's house, but compared to what I usually patrolled, this was nothing. We were all still close enough to reach each other in time if something happened.

I inhaled deeply, my nose in the air, taking in the smells of the forest and wet earth. I exhaled, then did it again, expecting the same smells. I froze, a rush of adrenaline shooting through me as I smelled it.

The sharp cold scent of a vampire, and it wasn't one I recognized.

_"Where is it?!"_ Leah was instantly headed toward me, along with Embry, who let out a piercing howl, alerting the others.

A stinging pain shot up my back, making my legs bow a little. I growled, swerving around and looking up into the tree above me, instantly zeroing in on him. He was smiling at me.

_"He's there!"_ I called._ "In the tree above me!"_

_"Keep him busy! We're on our way!"_ That was Jake and Quil, having heard Embry's howl.

The vampire was one I didn't recognize. He was younger than Gloria or Maxwell had been, and more wild looking. He was dressed in dirty blue jeans and a dirty white t-shirt, bare foot, with sloppy dark hair that reminded me of mine before I phased and cut it.

He grinned at me, and then I was on the ground, a ripping pain going across my face. I howled when I felt the pain of my front leg twisting and snapping. Searing pain spread across my whole body, making me collapse and writhe on the cold ground. It felt like someone was stabbing and ripping my skin open over and over and over…

_"Hang on Seth!"_ Leah yelled, an edge of panic in her voice now._ "I'm almost there!"_

I could hear the others yelling, snarling in my head, but they were drowned out by my howls. Pain crossed my whole body, wetness soaking me. But it hadn't been raining…

Through the pain I could feel something cold and hard on my neck. It squeezed, cutting off my air. I couldn't move to get him off. I couldn't breathe!

And then it stopped, everything going dark. Everything was quiet.

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><p><strong>Gwen's POV<strong>

It was chaos. That was all I heard outside, and it made my heart freeze in terror. Have you ever heard the sound of someone being tortured? Of an animal be tortured? I hope you never do, because no matter what, the sound of real pain is one you will never forget.

Jacob had only been in the house for a few minute when a load howl sent him tearing back outside and the Cullen's that were around me on high alert. That was when I heard the sounds; the sounds of a wolf being tortured.

I recognized that howl. It was Seth.

My hands clapped over my mouth and I felt the tears come, horror washing over me at his pained cries.

"_What's happening?! What's happening?! Jacob, get to him!_ _Just make it stop!"_ I thought, squeezing my eyes shut.

I felt a cold, hard hand caress my back in comfort, but I ignored it, turning toward Edward. He was facing the window, his eyes closed and his face a mask of concentration.

The sound of wolves growling and fighting something reached my ears, and that was when I realized that Seth's cries had suddenly been cut off. He was quite. The rest of them were growling and snapping and acting like really wolves, but Seth was silent.

And then the rest of them where.

"_Not Seth."_ I thought. _"Please, not any of them."_

Edward's eyes suddenly snapped open and turned toward Carlisle.

"It's over." He said calmly, but with an air of urgency. "They are on their way back; you should get the medical bay ready."

Carlisle, who had been the one rubbing my back, instantly vanished. Edward looked at me with hard eyes.

"Edward." That was Bella. When had she come back? "What happened out there? Is Jake okay?" She asked worriedly.

"Seth." I said, taking a step toward him. "That was Seth howling. What happened? Is he alright?" I asked, my heart pounding.

"You should go up to your room Gwen." Edward said solemnly.

Before I could demand an answer to my question, I heard the front door slam open.

"Carlisle!" Jacob yelled, voice panicked. "Carlisle!"

I bolted out of the living room before anyone could grab me, gasping at what I saw. It was like I was having flashbacks to that night in the ally, my stomach twisting at all the blood.

Jacob and Embry held Seth's limp body between them, covered in blood and open wounds. It looked like someone had torn his skin open, blood dripping down his blood and forming a puddle on the Cullen's wooden floor. His right arm was broken, twisted around and hanging limp at his side, a viscous looking tear going right across his face.

Carlisle seemed to appear out of thin air, Edward at his side. "Bring him upstairs! Quickly!" Carlisle demanded, disappearing once again.

I didn't watch as Jacob and Embry carried Seth up the stairs. Instead I whorled around and bolted back to the kitchen, bowing over the sink as what little dinner I had ate came back up. I felt cold hands on my back again as I heaved, crying and sniffling.

Seth was dead. He was dead; there was no way he could be alive after that.

Someone handed me a glass of water, and I rinsed my mouth out, kneeling down on the hard floor once I was finished.

It was that night in LA all over again. It had happened again, and again, I was powerless to stop it. I could hear someone calling my name, but their voice was muffled, hazy. Emotions swirled around in me, a haze of different things I didn't have any name for.

I don't know for how long I kneeled there for, sorting through the different colors of emotions running through me, but the one that was clear, the one that I absolutely recognized and had become more familiar with the last few days, was anger. No, not just anger.

Rage.

They took some else from me. Another special person. The people of La Push. Michael, Devin, Anna, Evan, and now Seth. They were all gone, taken, killed by these…these..._leeches._

I was tired of being afraid, tired of crawling in the closet whenever the fear of them crept up on me. I was done, this was it.

I didn't know how I was going to do it, but I would find a way.

I would kill every single one of them.

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><p><strong>This chapter. THIS CHAPTER.<strong>

**I feel like there are some good parts, and some bad parts. The part about tachyon particles was bad, as was Maxwell's power. Isn't kind of anticlimactic that he's just really super fast? But I couldn't think of anything else! I even asked for help from a few of my most faithful readers!**

**Please ignore the tachyon particle part, as I looked them up on wiki, and didn't understand a thing it said about them. I suck at physics, so that was just a very watered down and most likely wrong version of the parts I could actually understand.**

**Please let me know what you think of this chapter, as it is the first chapter since my forced hiatus, and I feel like I'm rusty. So please ignore any misspellings that I know you will see here.**

**Anyway, preview time! In the next chapter Gwen starts to think up ways to kill the three on her own, and also how to get away from her supernatural protectors without them noticing she's gone. And what about Seth? Is he still alive after his brush with death at the hands of a sadistic vampire?**

**Review, and make sure to tune in next time!**


	18. Red Riding Hood

***Bows lowly* I'm so sorry for the long, long, LONG wait for this chapter! I have an excuse, but I'm sure you don't care, so I won't go into it. Let's just say that life likes to randomly give kicks to the face sometimes. Anyway, I like the reviews for the last chapter. A lot of you have different opinions on Gwen becoming a wolf or not, but I have to say I have already decided what was going to happen with that. It will be explained in a coming chapter :) **

**Also, a lot of you were upset that I had Seth take a beating, but it was part of what I have planned. I choose Seth rather than Jacob because he's one of the youngest of the wolves and after Jacob, he is the closest to Gwen. As it is, I think Jacob would be to keyed up about protecting Gwen to be caught off guard like Seth was, so that's my reasoning for choosing him. Basically what I'm doing is forcing Gwen to take action against the vampires. If I didn't, she might not have made the decision she did, and would have turned into another Bella *shutters* That would have been horrible. As it is, Gwen admits she is scared, and we all know Bella was too, but the difference is that Bella never did anything until she was made into a vampire. Except in the first book, when she went to James, but even then, she didn't fight back. I wanted Gwen to fight back while she's still 100% human. **

**But anyway, I'm sure you are all tired of reading my ramblings. But one last thing: please read the bottom author's note about voting for my new stories :) **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, and I'm glad I don't. So there. On with the chapter!**

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><p>"<em>The light at the end of a tunnel may be an oncoming train."-Unknown<em>

"_One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it"-Master Ugue_

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><p><strong>PRESENT MOMENT; 3:17 AM<strong>

It was cold and dark.

It was starting to snow and it was three in the morning, of course it was cold.

But it wasn't just the snow or the darkness that was making me shiver. Despite the fact that I had just snuck out of the house and run at top speed all the way to the edge of the forest, the cold pierced me to my very heart. It was cold at my core, and the fact that I was wrapped tightly in Rosalie's thick coat and scarf didn't help at all. They were both red, ironically.

It was the cold grip of fear that was freezing me.

I had once read that animals could smell fear. I didn't know if that was true, but I couldn't afford to smell like anything but vampire at the moment. I would have to get far enough away as fast as I could before they figured out what I had done.

Rosalie was going to be pissed that I had stolen her clothes. But it didn't matter.

Once I was inside the forest, nothing would matter anymore.

**FLASHBACK; THREE DAYS AGO**

I sat outside the door to the operating room, knees pulled up to my chest, arms wrapped around them. I was holding myself so tightly, I couldn't breathe very well. My lungs couldn't expand all the way.

'_At least I can breathe more than Seth.'_ I thought gloomily. _'My lung isn't punctured.'_

After getting Seth into the Cullen's upstairs operating room, Carlisle performed a quick examination.

All Seth's ribs were fractured, one of his lungs punctured. His wind pipe was nearly crushed flat in his throat, and he could barely breathe. His arm had been mangled, broken and twisted around at the elbow. He had multiple lacerations across his face and body.

But the worst part was that his wounds were already healing before Carlisle got a chance to set them, and thus Seth's ribs and arm had to be re-broken. I had heard the cracking of his bones as Carlisle re-broke them, and had winced. I was so glad Seth was unconscious the whole time.

He would live, but it would actually take some time before he could go out on patrol again. Carlisle had said maybe five days, a week at most, which said something for the wolves healing abilities. Any regular human, if they were lucky to be alive after that, would be in for some serious therapy and down time.

It had been three hours since Seth had been ambushed by the unknown vampire, but Edward had already confirmed that it had been Dennis. Apparently he couldn't wait anymore. The only thing that had stopped him from killing Seth and going for the house had been the arrival of the rest of the pack.

"He'll be back." Edward had said. "But maybe his impulsiveness will work in our favor."

I didn't know what he meant by that, all I knew was that I wasn't going to let anyone else end up like Seth.

"Gwen."

I jumped, looking up into the golden eyes of Alice. Nessie held her hand, but let her go in favor of coming to sit down next to me.

"You should come downstairs. I made some tea for you."

I shook my head, looking down at my knees. "No thanks, Alice."

"It'll help calm you down."

"I'm calm."

"You're in shock. It's not the same thing."

"Is Jacob and the others still outside?" I asked quietly.

"Yes. Everyone's out looking for Dennis. Except Edward. He's downstairs, keeping tabs on everyone."

"And you're keeping tabs on me."

She smiled sadly. "Jacob doesn't want you to be alone right now. So I'm staying with you."

I swallowed, biting back the bitter words I wanted to say. I wanted Jacob here with me, not her. It should be him here trying to comfort me, not this walking ice block. But that was selfish of me. The pack needed him right now, they needed his help. And the reason he was out there anyway was because of me, to protect me. I wondered if this was how Emily and the other imprints felt sometimes. It sucked.

Stretching out my legs, I winced, my knees stiff from sitting in the same position for nearly three hours. I stood slowly, both Nessie and Alice watching me. I forced a slight smile.

"I think I'm just going to go lay down for awhile. Will you tell me how Seth and the others are doing?"

Alice nodded, watching me suspiciously. "Do you want your tea?"

"Maybe later."

I trudged back to my room slowly, almost in a daze. I felt like I was floating, like I was separate from my body. My head was filled with thoughts, thoughts of Seth, of Jacob, of the rest of the pack and the Cullen's. They were all in danger. Maybe not the Cullen's especially, but definitely the pack.

I collapsed on my bed in the darkness, my eyes stinging, trying to hold back tears. I couldn't let anything else happen to them. The only way out of this I could see was with my death. Or maybe my becoming a vampire.

The next day was when I started to think of a plan. I spent most of that time up in my room, away from Edward. He could read my mind, so I tried to stay away from him so he wouldn't know what I was planning. When I was forced to be around him I tried to keep my mind perfectly blank, or thought of other things. It was more difficult than I thought.

Seth had woken up during the night and was fine, but upset that he was forbidden from patrolling for the next few days.

"But you guys need me!" He exclaimed, waving his good arm around. His other was in a sling, but it would most likely be off within a few hours.

"No way, kid." Jacob said, arms crossed and looking stern. "The doc said you can't go out for a few days, and I agree with him. We can handle this ourselves."

"But Jake! I'll be all healed up by tomorrow! You're just being paranoid!" He exclaimed.

Jacob sighed, massaging his eyes. "Just because that leech messed you up isn't the only reason I want you to stay inside."

His eyes shot to me, and then back to Seth, whose eyes did the same. He looked at Jake in confusion, brow wrinkled. "Huh?"

"Gwen, you moron!" Jake exclaimed in exasperation. "I want you to stay here to keep an eye on Gwen!"

"…oh, right." Seth smiled sheepishly.

And so, I had another person to avoid while I planned. I really had no idea what I was going to do. How could one human take on three vampires?

My first flash of insight came late that same evening while playing a video game against Nessie. I had no idea what we were playing, but she was winning. Edward was at the window, staring into the darkness like he had the night before. He was so still, he was like a statue; it was freaky.

"Jacob and Rosalie are back." He suddenly announced, causing me to jump.

I looked up as the two of them walked in, both their noses wrinkled, Rosalie holding a can of what looked like hair spray over her perfect head.

"What is wrong with you, blondie?" Jacob growled out at her, a touch of annoyance in his voice. "You've got so much of that crap in your hair I can barely smell anything. Not even your usual stink."

Rosalie sneered. "We may be out breaking our backs to protect your little girlfriend, but that doesn't mean I have to look like the rest of you mangy mutts while doing it."

It was like a light bulb went off in my head. Jacob couldn't smell her over the scent of the hair spray. She had too much of it on.

The fact that he couldn't smell her over it surprised me, considering how strong his sense of smell was, but hair spray had a heavy scent, especially if there was a lot of it.

Before I could get too far ahead of myself (or before they started brawling) I spoke.

"So how's the hunt going?" I asked quietly.

They both looked at me, still scowling. Jacob sighed, running a hand through his shaggy hair. It was starting to grow out again.

"We've followed the scent, but then it just disappears after awhile. It's starting to piss me off." He grumbled, tired eyes glancing out the window.

"It was Maxwell." Edward spoke up, causing me to look over at him. He was facing us now, arms crossed. "He came for Dennis once they realized he was gone."

Rosalie let out a frustrated hiss. "This game of cat and mouse is getting as old as you are, Edward. I have better ways to waste my time."

She threw me a disgusted glare and strode out of the room, spraying hair care product over her head as she went.

I scowled, agreeing silently. I'm sure we all had better ways to waste our time.

Jacob growled at her back, but didn't say anything. He probably agreed too. I bet he would rather be back in La Push, patrolling with Sam and the others, or in his house, stuffing his face.

"I'm gonna get something to eat before heading back out. Will you eat with me?" he asked, turning and throwing me a pleading look.

I nodded, watching as he sent me a small, grateful smile. Turning to Nessie, I smiled at her, placing my controller down. She looked at me questioningly.

"Let's finish this later, okay Ness?"

She nodded, seeming a little disappointed. Getting up, I started to follow Jacob into the kitchen, when Edward's voice stopped me.

"Gwen."

I turned back, only to come face to face with suspicious looking gold eyes. Edward eyed me speculatively.

"Are you planning something?" he asked lowly.

My heart skipped a beat. Crap.

"What are you talking about? Planning what?" I asked calmly.

He stood there silently, gazing into my eyes like he was trying to see into my soul. My heart was beating quickly, causing me to believe he could clearly hear it. I kept my face smooth easily enough, staring back into his eyes, but keeping my mind blank of all thoughts of plans was a bit more difficult.

Finally, Edward closed his eyes, rubbing them like he was tired. Yeah, the creature of the night that didn't need to sleep was_ tired_. Damn drama queen.

"Gwen, please tell me you are not planning on doing anything reckless."

"I'm not planning anything, Edward. I don't know what you're talking about." I replied carefully.

He eyed me a little more, and then sighed, admitting defeat. "Very well. But just know I will be watching you very closely from now on."

I shrugged, irritated and a little on edge now. Crap, crap, crap, crap!

Before he could further question me, I spun around and booked it into the kitchen, taking a seat next to my boyfriend.

Later that night Jacob stayed with me. He held me close, covering my face with gentle kisses, running his fingers through my hair and up and down my sides and back. I pushed myself closer to him, trying to absorb his warmth.

"Jacob?"

"Hmmm?" he mumbled against my throat, where he was placing soft kisses.

"You couldn't smell Rosalie earlier could you?" I asked, trying to think clearly. He was being very distracting.

"Mmm. Just barely." He muttered, trailing his lips across my collar bone.

"And-ah!" I gasped, involuntary arching my back as Jacob bit down on the spot where my neck and throat joined. His arm wrapped around my waist, holding me firmly against him, his grip secure.

"You told me once that fire could destroy vampires, r-right?" I gasped, trying to stay with my train of thought.

"Mm-hmm." He muttered, bring his lips down to mine.

I didn't think much more that night, as Jacob really wasn't in the mood to talk. We both had been under a lot of stress the past few days, been away from each other a lot. It was no wonder he just wanted to spend time with me. There was a chance one of us might not survive much longer.

When I woke up the next morning I has half dressed, and not very well rested. Jacob was gone of course, all ready outside. I hoped he was feeling better than I was at that moment.

I spent the rest of the day up in my room, thinking. Alice came up at lunch time with food and an update on our cat-mouse game.

"So I guess Gloria and Dennis came close again today, but not close enough that the pack could catch their scent. Edward says their scouting the area, that they are getting ready to charge us. Both of them are getting tired of playing games too."

I nibbled on my sandwich, glancing out the window. "What about the other one, Maxwell?"

Alice shrugged. "He wasn't with them. Edward doesn't know where he went."

"Great." I muttered, feeling my stomach twist.

"Don't worry, Gwen." She said, laying one ice cold hand over mine. I looked into her gold eyes, seeing her smile. "We will win. I know we will."

"Did you see it?"

Her mouth turned down at the edges, and she pulled her hand away, sitting up straight. "No. I told you I can't see anything that deals with you and the wolves. But I saw that something will be happening very soon."

She stood up and walked toward the door, where she turned back to look at me. "Edward says you're planning something."

I looked back out the window, at all the frost that was starting to gather on the trees outside.

"Edward likes to think he's a know-it-all, just because he can read minds." I replied. "I'm not planning anything."

Alice sighed. "I can't see what's going to happen clearly, but let me tell you something." She turned back to face me, a look of seriousness on her young face that didn't seem to belong there.

"When we were protecting Bella from James, she was able to sneak away from Jasper and I. We didn't get to her in time, and he bit her, as well as caused her other serious injury. I will never forget the look on Edward's face when he realized that if he didn't suck the poison out of her, she would die. I don't want to see the same look on Jacob's face if that happens to you. Just think about that before you make any rash decisions. Think about Jacob, and the rest of your family."

And on that note, she walked out, closing the door quietly behind her. I sat there in silence for a few minutes, feeling goose bumps rise on my skin.

"I am thinking of them." I muttered.

I made sure I was in bed before Jacob came back that night. When he came in, I pretended to be asleep, so he wouldn't try to make out with me again. I needed to think. If our enemies planned to come for me soon, I needed a plan. And I thought I had one, but I needed to smooth it out before I acted.

I felt Jacob crawl into bed, wrapping his arms around me. Within a matter of minutes, he was asleep, his deep breaths hot against the back of my neck. It broke my heart to know that he was completely clueless about what was going on in my head. He had no idea, didn't suspect a thing, which means he wouldn't try to stop me.

And that hurt, more than anything.

The next morning I woke up feeling tired, as usual. But I also felt resolved, ready. Last night I had laid awake for hours, smoothing out the kinks in my plan. I just had to wait now.

The day went by slowly, and I couldn't sit still. Despite the fact that I was dead tired, I had so much energy I actually took to running up and down the Cullen's long stair well, earning me odd looks from Nessie as she sat and watched me run back and forth.

At lunch time Edward watched my every move, along with Alice. It was eerie, really. Their eyes never left me. It made me think that this was how they might look while out hunting for animals to prey on.

After awhile, I couldn't stand it anymore, so I went into the living room, where Seth was sitting watching T.V. with a blank look on his face. He turned to look at me as I walked in, his face lighting up.

"Hey, Gwen! How ya feeling?" he asked cheerfully.

I gave him an odd look. "How are you always so happy?" I asked, plopping down next to him. "It gets kind of annoying sometimes, you know?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I know. Leah tells me that all the time, but I can't really help it, I guess. Sorry."

I shook my head. "It's okay. Forget I said anything."

I examined him out of the corner of my eye. He was sitting there, shirtless of course, and completely injury free. No scars, his arm out of the sling, and completely healthy looking. It had only been two days since his encounter with Dennis, but he looked healthier than ever. I was a little jealous. After my encounter with the vampires it had taken me weeks to recover. Damn wolf healing.

I turned back to look at the T.V., not really watching it. "So what did he look like? Dennis, I mean?" I asked quietly.

Seth frowned, his forehead wrinkling slightly. "Kinda crazy. I mean, he had that look that all vampires have, you know? But his eyes looked…like he completely lost it. He looked like someone who belongs in a mental hospital." He said, voice low, almost at a whisper.

I shivered. He must have interpreted it as me being cold because he pulled down the blanket that was laid over the back of the couch. Placing it over me, he smiled cheerfully.

"Don't worry, Gwen. We'll get him for you. Nobody else will get hurt."

I looked up at him, at his open, almost childish face. I took his hand, squeezing it reassuringly, both for him and myself.

"I know, Seth."

**LATER THAT NIGHT; 11:00 PM**

"Jacob…" I gasped, feeling his hot mouth trail down my stomach, his hands on my hips, my hands buried in his hair.

Jacob had come in that night, shovelled food down his throat, then had gathered me up in his arms and had trudged up the stairs to our borrowed bedroom. Apparently he wanted to make out again.

I wasn't sure what exactly had happened, but all I knew was that suddenly my shirt was off and Jacob was on top of me, covering my skin in hot kisses. It wasn't like I didn't enjoy it, but I was a little anxious of how far he wanted to go all of a sudden. I might die tonight, but that didn't mean I was ready to go any farther than this.

I felt his mouth trail back up my stomach, pausing to place little licks and kisses here and there, causing me to gasp and squirm beneath him. His lips found mine in the darkness, mouths and tongues molding together as he wrapped an arm around my waist. I whimpered, wrapping my arms around his shoulders, bring him closer. He growled in response, tightening his grip. His other hand was behind my head, keeping my mouth firmly against his, lips almost bruising as he kissed me. I pushed against his shoulders, causing him to pull back, both our chests heaving for air.

"Jacob…we should stop…" I gasped, looking up at him with lidded eyes in the darkness.

His eyes were staring into mine, fire raging in them. "You're probably right…" he said, but his voice was rough with desire. It made me shiver, and not with cold.

He leaned down and pecked my bruised lips, once, twice, and then he began to deepen them again.

"Jacob…" I murmured warningly against his mouth.

"Right." He breathed, pulling back. He took a deep calming breath, unwinding his arms from around me. "Okay, okay, okay…"

He hovered over me on his knees, passing his hands over his face before he looked at me again, his eyes sparking. I realized I still didn't have my shirt on, and quickly reached down and gathered it up off the floor, pulling it on.

"I think I'm going to go take a quick shower." Jacob murmured, sounding suddenly embarrassed.

I glanced over at him, and quickly realized why. My face heated up, more than it already was.

"Erm…right…" I mumbled, quickly looking away.

As the door to the bathroom closed behind him, I fell back onto the bed, closing my eyes. That was probably going to be the last time I kissed Jacob like that. We would never get a chance to go farther than that, never get a chance to have kids, never have a chance at a life together.

At that moment, I realized how much I wanted that life, with Jacob. I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing the tears back. For a second, I considered not going through with my plan. But I had too. If I didn't someone might die, Jacob, me, anyone of us. Better only one of us goes than all of us.

**3:00 AM**

I woke up with a start. The alarm on my watch was going off, causing me to quickly reach over and press the button on the side, making it go quiet.

I laid there for a second, listening to Jacob snore. He was deep asleep.

Rolling out of his arms, I dropped to the floor, balancing on the balls of my feet as I listened. I couldn't hear anything; the Cullen house was silent. Turning toward the small end table on my side on the bed, I opened it enough to just stick my hand in, fingers meeting the small piece of plastic I had placed there earlier. I glanced down at it, seeing the clear liquid inside slosh around, even in the dark.

Standing, I walked over to the door, opening it quietly and peeking out. The hallway was full of light, but empty. I glanced down the hall, toward where I knew Rosalie and Emmett's room was.

I was careful as I made my way toward their room, knowing that Edward, Alice and Seth were all in the house. Seth was probably asleep though, so I wasn't so worried about him catching me. The rest of the Cullen's were outside, except for Rosalie, who I knew would be coming inside any second. She always came inside every other hour to fix her hair. I had noticed it on the first few nights I hadn't slept. I was glad she was so vain, as it would work perfectly with helping me sneak out.

Just then, I heard the front door open, along with Rosalie's voice, calling out to Edward and Alice she would be heading back out in a minute. I ducked into the guest bathroom a few doors down from their room. I knew she would smell me, but she had no reason to wonder why I was using that bathroom, or to suspect I was up to anything; unless Edward and Alice had clued her in to their suspicion of me. Somehow I didn't think she would care.

I heard her walk pass the bathroom, no hesitation in her steps. A few minutes later, she passed back the way she had come. I waited another minute before I peeked out the door. The hall was deserted.

I made my way into her and Emmett's bedroom, wrinkling my nose at the smell of perfume and hair spray that hovered in there. I didn't know how they couldn't stand the packs scent, but they could stand smelling this all the time. Poor Emmett.

Opening their closet, I shuffled through all their various clothes, finding a thick coat and scarf that belonged to Rosalie. Pulling it on, I noted it was a little long for me, but that was alright, as long as it didn't get in my way.

I then went into their bathroom, finding a bottle of the hair spray Rosalie had been using lately. I sprayed some over myself, and then tucked it into the coat pocket, along with the small liquid filled piece of plastic I was still holding.

As I left their room, I quietly closed the door behind me. Turning around, I nearly screamed, jumping out of my skin.

"Nessie!" I exclaimed in a harsh, low whisper.

The little girl looked up at me questioningly with sleep filled eyes, her copper colored hair rumpled. She held her little rabbit in one hand, extending the other out to me. Taking it, she asked me why I was in her aunt and uncle's room.

I kneeled down, still holding her hand.

'_I need to borrow your auntie's coat for a little bit. I'm going for a walk.'_ I thought, gazing into her brown doe eyes.

She wanted to know if she could come. I quickly shook my head. _'No, Nessie. I need to go by myself. Maybe we can go for a walk some other time.'_

She pouted, but nodded. I smiled at her sadly.

'_Why don't you go downstairs and play with your daddy and Auntie Alice?' _I suggested._ 'But don't tell them you saw me, alright? They can't know I'm going outside.'_

She tilted her head to the side slightly, frowning. She wanted to know about the vampires that were looking for me. She knew they were still out there. I swallowed thickly.

'_I'm going to go talk to them. I'm going to make them leave us all alone.'_ I thought to her.

She pulled her hand away, still frowning at me, almost in disappointment. Nessie really was a smart kid. She knew exactly what I was doing. But to my surprise, she nodded. Taking my hand, she led me down the stairs, pausing right in front of the doorway to the living room. She glanced up at me.

She was going to distract Edward and Alice, and I was to run when she did. I smiled at her, feeling tears prick my eyes. Kneeling down, I kissed her cheek.

'_Thank you.'_ I thought.

Sending me one last sweet smile, she bolted into the living room, flinging herself at Edward, who was gazing out the window from the coach, a look of concentration on his face. Alice sat next to him, her eyes glazed as she looked off into space. I watched as the little girl landed across both of their laps, startling them out of whatever daze they were in.

I bolted then, ignoring Edward and Alice's surprised exclamations of the girls' name. I ran out the front door and into the snow, running faster than I had ever run before. I had to get pass Quil and Leah (who were circling the house) and to the forests edge before they noticed it wasn't Rosalie's scent they smelled.

I had to duck down behind Jacob's Rabbit before I reached the edge of the forest, as Quil was passing in front of it. I held my breath as he paused, nose in the air, nostrils flaring as he inhaled. It felt like an eternity until he finally snorted, sneezed, shook his head, and continued walking. I ran the next few yards like a rabid dog was chasing me (no pun intended) finally pausing just inside the edge of the tree line, ducking behind a line of thick trees.

**PRESENT MOMENT; 3:17 AM**

It was cold and dark. And it was starting to snow. I placed a hand against my pounding heart, gazing into the dark of the forest as I felt the cold engulf me and sink into my body. My breath came out in white puffs of air, and I quickly covered my mouth, afraid one of the Cullen's or the pack would see it.

I didn't know where they were, but I knew they were all patrolling different parts around the area. I had to be careful they wouldn't see me, or if they did, that they would mistake me for Rosalie, since I was covered in her scent. Hopefully, Rosalie herself wouldn't stumble across me.

I reached inside the pocket of the coat, making sure the can of hair spray and the plastic were both still there. They were.

'_Just pretend you're Red Riding Hood, going to face the wolf.'_ I thought, feeling my heart pound. _'And hopefully, Dennis will find you before either the pack or any of the Cullen's, because someone is bound to notice that you're gone and will come after you. So get moving, Red!'_

Taking a deep breath, steeling my nerves, I took a step. Then another. And another. And then I was running, disappearing into the darkness.

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><p><strong>Oh, man, I was blushing so bad when I wrote the make out parts. But I wanted to give you all a little fluffy-fluff to make up for being gone so long. <strong>

**So I hope this wasn't too terrible, and that it made up for the long absence. Feel free to ask any questions about Gwen's plan, or address any holes you guys see in it. I'll answer them in the author's note next chapter, if you have them.**

**Also, in case anyone didn't see the author's note I posted, I'm planning out my next story, but I'm not sure which one to write first. I posted summaries and a poll on my profile, so check them out and vote on which one you might be interested in reading. I noticed the poll for some reason wasn't up, even though I had created it, so I went back and fixed it, so it should be there now. If it's not, please let me know.**

**In the next chapter: The moment we've all been waiting for is here. After being pursued for nearly a month, Gwen finally comes face to face with Dennis. We'll learn exactly why he wants her, what his life was like before he was turned and how he saw Gwen while he was still human. And what about Gwen herself? We all know how she feels about vampires, but after hearing Dennis' take on everything, will she change her mind? Will she come out as an un-dead vampire, or just plain dead? Find out in chapter nineteen!**

**Reviews please! **


	19. Courage

**So I'm a little sad. Only four of you have voted for my next story. Out of the four, three of you have voted for What the Half-Elven Wrought, which makes me happy, because I have absolutely no motivation to start writing The Unnoticeable right now. And actually, I already have half of the first chapters written for both What the Half-Elven Wrought and The Turtle's Resolve. How come no one has voted for that one? No One Piece fans out there? Was the summery not that intresting? Well, whatever. I'll get around to writing a One Piece fic eventually. But seriously guys, please vote. I would really like some more input on what to write next.**

**Not much to say here. Merry Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or whatever holiday you are affiliated with. I hope you enjoy this one, as it is my gift to you :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. If I did it would have been completely different. Bella probably would have done to Edward what Gwen's going to do to Dennis in this chapter ;)**

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><p>"<em>It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to our friends"-<em>Albus Dumbledore

"_With realization of one's own potential and self-confidence in one's own ability, one can build a better world."-_Dalai Lama

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><p>'<em>I wonder if Red Riding Hood brought a flashlight with her.'<em>

The forest was pitch dark, cold, and bigger than I had thought. I had been hoping that I could find Dennis pretty soon after entering the forest, but I was beginning to realize that it wasn't going to happen that way. I would probably freeze to death before I found anyone.

I had been wandering in the forest for what felt like hours, but I was sure it had only been a few minutes. Rosalie's coat wasn't really doing much good to keep the cold at bay anymore, and I had left the house wearing only a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. My sneakers were soaked through with snow, making me sure I was going to lose a few of my toes.

'_I probably could have made better wardrobe choices for this.'_ I thought dryly.

I took a deep calming breath, my heart beating hard, my nerves frayed. I still felt scared, but now that I was inside the forest, surrounded by darkness and silence, I felt more nervous than anything. I could just barely make out the shapes of trees and other foliage around me, and so I found myself tripping over various roots and sticks and other things I couldn't see. But I kept on walking, trying to move my tired and now freezing body as far away from the Cullen house and the pack as I could. I had no idea how far I had gone, or if I had even completely got passed all of them, but considering I didn't hear anything coming after me, it a good thing.

I reached inside the coats pocket, brushing my cold fingers against the can of hair spray and the small plastic tube. They felt like they were iced over, and I faintly hoped that the two liquids didn't freeze before I got a chance to hopefully use them.

I sighed, a white puff of freezing air appearing in front of my mouth. There was nothing here, no life what so ever. It was going to take forever for me to find Dennis. It was funny; back in school I never really had any reason to seek him out, but somehow I always seemed to run into him while at school. We only ever had one class together…

FLASHBACK: ONE YEAR AGO

_I sighed, plopping down in my desk, impatiently brushing some of my long hair behind my shoulder. It was the last class of the day, and I couldn't be any happier. It was Friday and thus the best day of the week. _

_I yawned, stretching as I watched my fellow classmates ooze to their respective seats. A few of them came in loudly, pushing and shoving each other, laughing and pretty much having a good time. Others, like the boy who sat next to me, came in at a more sedate pace. I glanced at him as he sat down, pushing a pair of thick glasses up his thin nose. His eyes were hidden behind shaggy black hair, his shoulders hunched as he took a drawing notebook out of his backpack. I watched him with a pinch of pity. He looked so pathetic._

"_Hey Dennis!" I said cheerfully._

_The boy jumped in his seat, his head turning to look at me so fast his hair swished. His eyes were wide as he stared at me._

"_Uh…hey Gwen." He replied in a hesitant tone, voice quite, almost shy._

_I leaned over, glancing at the drawing he had displayed in front of him. "What cha drawin'?"_

"_Um, nothing much."_

"_Doesn't look like nothing." I said, gazing down at the pencil marked page._

_It was an amazing rendition of a girl in armor, sword raised, while a dragon-like creature bore down on her, a figure in black robes riding on its back. It was sketched and outlined and shaded like something out of a professional magazine._

"_This is amazing, Dennis." I smiled, looking up at him. "It's Eowyn facing down the Witch King from Return of the King, right?"_

_He nodded slowly, the expression on his face as he looked at me filled with disbelief. "Y-yeah. How did you know that?"_

_I frowned at him. "It's obvious isn't it? For anyone who's read the books I mean." I laughed, leaning away from him. "And even if you hadn't, considering the movie came out awhile ago."_

_He shifted in his seat uncomfortably, grimacing slightly as he looked away from me. "Ah, I guess so…" he muttered._

_Before I could say anything else, Mrs. Griffin walked in, calling for order. I didn't notice Dennis glancing at me out of the corner of his eye as I pulled out my notebook._

END FLASHBACK

I wonder why that memory stands out so much, but it did. Dennis had been the quiet, bully magnet boy in school, but he had always struck me gentle and sweet, if a little introverted. It was crazy and hard to believe that he was the one who was hunting me now. It was crazy and hard to believe it had really been him that night that had killed Michele so gruesomely. It was so, so hard to believe.

FLASHBACK: ONE YEAR AGO

_It was forty-five minutes after school, and I had just finished my TA job for Mrs. McConnell, which basically just consisted of grading papers. I walked quickly toward the school gate, knowing that Michael would be waiting for me._

_Tugging my bag over my shoulder, I looked down only to see that my shoe lace was coming un- tied. Tisking, I bent down a few yards from the gate, quickly tying it. Standing up, I heard a yell of what sounded like pain. Turing the corner, my eyes widened in disbelief._

_Just outside the gate were a group of kids, three of them, plus Michael, surrounding a boy, who kneeled on the ground on his hands and knees. I instantly recognized him as Dennis._

_I watched as he sat back on his heels slowly, bringing a hand to his nose, which was bloody. His glasses were gone, and I then realized that Michael was the one who was standing over him, holding a black notebook. I recognized it as Dennis' sketchbook. _

_Michael flipped through it, saying something I couldn't hear. And then he started ripping the pages out, crushing them and tossing them over his shoulder as he did. The others did nothing except laugh or smirk._

_I frowned, feeling something stir in my chest. Grinding my teeth, I pulled my backpack over my shoulder more securely and stomped toward them. Before he knew what was happening I had ripped the sketch book out of Michael's hands, causing him to step back._

"_What the hell is this?!" I exclaimed, waving my arm out over the scene._

_Michael looked at me in surprise before his expression smoothed over into one of casualness. He glanced down at Dennis, who was still on his knees clutching his bloody nose, then back at me. He shrugged, nonchalant._

"_Killing time."_

"_K-killing time?!" I asked in disbelief. "You call this killing time? What is wrong with you!?"_

_Michael huffed slightly. "C'mon Gwen, don't be like that. You know this guy is a complete weirdo; always has his head in that notebook. We just wanted to see what was in it."_

"_And what, punching him in the face was your way of asking to see it?!" I exclaimed, turning away from him in disgust._

_I kneeled down next to Dennis and took his arm, pulling him up. "Can you walk?" I asked him gently._

_He nodded, not speaking, hand still on his nose, which was dripping. His hair covered his eyes again, so I couldn't see the gaze he was giving the boy next to me. I grabbed his backpack off the ground, handing it to him._

"_Gwen, c'mon." Michael huffed, his voice whiny. "We didn't mean to really hurt him. It was just a joke."_

_I whorled around, disbelief flowing through me. "You call giving someone a bloody nose a joke?!" I screeched in shock. "Stuffing an ice cube down someone's shirt is a joke, Michael; putting salt in the sugar bowl is a joke, but physically hurting someone is not funny! And what are you all laughing at?!" I exclaimed, turning to the group of boys who still surrounded us. They had been watching me yell, amusement in their eyes. "Get outta here, all of you!" I yelled, waving my arms around._

_They dispersed, but not before giving me a few amused looks. I knew they weren't taking this_ _seriously, and that made me even angrier. I turned back to Michael, who was looking mad himself now._

"_Thanks a lot for embarrassing me." He sneered. "I'll never live down the fact that my girlfriend just yelled at me in front of my friends like a snot nosed kid."_

"_You are a snot nosed kid and you should be embarrassed!" I yelled, my blood pounding in my ears. "Since when are you such a bully?!"_

_Without waiting for an answer I grabbed Dennis' arm and started dragging him with me to the bus stop down the street. I didn't bother looking back at Michael, even though I could feel his eyes on my back._

_By the time we sat down at the bus stop I had given Dennis some tissues to stop his bleeding nose. We sat in silence, me quietly steaming, him blinking off into space. I could see his eyes now, and to my surprise, they weren't angry. They were thoughtful and glazed over, like he was_ _thinking of something deeply. Finally, he blinked._

"_Why do you hang out with him?" he asked quietly._

_I sighed, looking up at the sky. "I don't know. Usually he's really sweet, but I don't know what he was thinking back there. I never thought he would do something like this." I said, looking over at him._

_He had removed the tissues from his nose, as it had stopped gushing blood. However, his nose and upper lip were stained red. He looked down at the bloody tissues silently._

"_I'm really sorry, Dennis." I said, passing him back his torn sketch book. "How does your nose feel?"_

"_I don't understand why you hang out with him." He repeated, taking the book out of my hand and ignoring my question. He looked up at me with sad eyes. "You're so nice. You deserve to be treated better than that."_

_My eyes widened. No one had ever said anything to me like that, not even Michael, when he was trying to be all sweet and disgusting. I felt a stab of happiness in my chest, and I smiled at him sadly. "So do you."_

_He stared at me with dark eyes, some sort of emotion in them I couldn't place. He looked away then, opening his notebook and flipping through it until he came to the very back of the book, the part Michael hadn't torn up. He turned his back to me, so I wouldn't see what he was doing, but I heard him rip a page out. He shuffled around a bit, the paper crinkling, and then he turned back to me. He handed me a folded paper star, like one of those silly origami shuriken kids make in elementary school._

_I took it curiously, just as the bus pulled up in front of us. He stood, still looking at me. _

"_Don't open it until I leave, okay?"_

"_Um, okay." I said looking down at the small folded star. I looked back at him and smiled. "Thanks!"_

_He nodded, offering me a small shy smile, just the corners of his mouth turned up. "Thanks for saving me."_

_After his bus left, I started unfolding the star, carefully, so I wouldn't rip it. My eyes widened in amazement when I saw the drawing._

"_Oh, wow."_

_It was me. _

_It must have been the view he had of me as I sat beside him in class, because I was facing sideways in the picture, one side of my long hair draped over the desk, the other over my shoulder and down my back. I was hunched over, looking like I was writing something in my notebook, a look of_ _concentration on my face. But I was smiling slightly, my eyes sparkling, happy looking. In the corner, in very neat and small writing, were Dennis' initials, DP. It was almost better than any picture taken with a camera._

END FLASHBACK

I had no idea where that picture had got too. I had tucked it into my notebook, but after that I'm not sure what I had done with it.

I rubbed my forehead, a strong feeling of stupidity washing over me. If anything, that drawing was the biggest clue of Dennis' feelings for me. But I had ignored them. When I had seen him the next time I had thanked him for the drawing, but hadn't asked why exactly he had drawn me like that.

I wonder what might have happened if I had dumped Michael for Dennis back then. I mean, Dennis hadn't been bad looking, just a little dorky. And he had been sweet, like a puppy in need of attention. That was the main reason I had made an effort to talk to him every day in class. He never seemed to have any friends, and if he did I never saw him with them. He had always just seemed…lonely.

Before my thoughts could go any further something hard and cold touched my shoulder, making me jump with a frightened gasp. I whorled around, only to come face to face with the person I was looking for. And he wasn't alone.

Dennis and Gloria smiled at me, their bleached white faces almost luminescent in the darkness.

"Gwen." Dennis breathed, looking at my face with red, joyful eyes. "I'm so happy to see you."

THE CULLEN HOUSE; 3:22 AM

Jacob woke with a start. His heart was pounding in his chest, a thin coating of sweat covering his body. He felt edgy, his body pulsing with energy, muscles jumping and itching to move. His eyes, usually blurry with sleep after just waking up, were clear as he looking at the ceiling above him, unblinking. A nagging feeling was in his gut and head, making his stomach churn with nervousness. Something was wrong.

He moved his arm out, intending to reach for his imprint and pull her against him, but all his hand came into contact with was empty sheets. They were cool, and her scent was thin, tell tale signs that she had been gone for some time.

He was out the bedroom door and down the stairs before he even registered moving. He tore into the living room, taking in the fact that Alice, Edward and Nessie were sitting together on the couch, Seth passed out and snoring in an arm chair across the room.

"Where is she?" he demanded, a low growl in his voice, eyes narrowing.

The two vampires and one halfling looked up at him, Nessie biting her lip and quickly looking away from the angry shape shifter in front of her. Edward looked down at his daughter, expression suddenly one of alarm as he stared at her. He looked over at Alice, whose own expression lightened to one of dawning understanding. They both jumped up, Edward's eyes wide.

"She's gone."

Jacob tore out of the house, barely bothering to open the front door as he shifted, landing in the deep snow with a crash. Quil, who had been circling in front of the door, looked up at him in alarm, squinting through the falling snow.

'_What's up, man?'_ he asked.

Jacob's fur was bristling, his lips pulled back in a snarl as his blood boiled. _'Where is Gwen?!'_ he thundered angrily.

Quil backed up a step, head and tail lowered in the face of Jacob's rage_. 'What are you talking_ _about? I thought she was inside with you.'_

'_What's your problem, Jacob?'_ Leah demanded, appearing through the falling snow like a specter.

'_Gwen's gone!'_ Jacob yelled, sticking his nose in the air and inhaling, searching for her scent. _'She's not in the house!'_

Edward and Seth appeared then, Seth already shifted. "Nessie says she's gone to meet Dennis, but she doesn't know which way Gwen went." Edward informed with a tone that suggested Nessie was going to be grounded for the rest of her life.

'_I found foot prints!'_ Embry's voice suddenly called out. _'The snow isn't as thick inside the forest, and these are definitely Gwen's foot prints!'_

"Alice is staying with Nessie. I'll get the others; you go after Gwen." Edward said, disappearing not a second afterward.

'_Go after her, Embry! We're on our way.'_

Four giant wolves sprinted into the forest in a blur, kicking up the freshly fallen snow as they went.

3:24 AM

"I'm really happy to see you, Gwen." Dennis smiled happily, taking a step toward me.

I took one back, inhaling and trying to calm my pounding heart. My face felt frozen in an expression of shock and horror, and though I could feel the cold, I felt my temperature rise as my heart tried to jump out of my chest. Behind him, Gloria grinned.

"Listen to her heart beat." She purred, draping one arm over Dennis' shoulder. "It's like a drum, or a fluttering little bird." She laughed. "Are you sure you want her?" she asked, turning her head to look at him. "Looking at her up close like this she doesn't seem like much. Perhaps Maxwell was right."

Dennis frowned, glancing at her in distaste. "Yes, I want her. I told you." He spoke with a hard edge to his voice. He looked back at me and smiled. "She special."

"Dennis." I whispered my throat tight. "What happened to you?"

This was not the same shy, sweet boy I had known back in school. He wasn't as gangly as he had been before; his body looked like he had bulked up, his muscles hard under his already rock-like skin. He was taller, his hair still dark, but it was longer, shaggier, almost to his shoulders. He wore a thin white t-shirt and blue jeans which were ripped across the knees and hems. He had no shoes.

And his eyes, oh god his eyes. They were red, like the reddest apples. Or like…I swallowed, closing my own eyes. The look behind them terrified me. Behind that happy smile, and the happy look in his eyes, he was insane. The insanity in those eyes of his seemed to make my brain numb and freeze my very blood.

"What's the matter, Gwen?" he asked gently, quietly. I heard the crunch of snow as he took another step toward me, and I took another back.

My eyes flew open and I gasped when I felt the rough bark of a tree behind me, cutting off my retreat. He was standing right in front of me now, only a foot or two away.

"Dennis." I gasped. "You're a vampire now…how…" I trailed off, voice fading.

He looked surprised. "Oh, you know about vampires." Then he blinked, laughing and scratching the back of his head, looking almost sheepish. "Well, I guess since you're running around with a pack of werewolves and everything, you would know about us, huh?" he laughed.

"As for how it happened, it was Gloria." He smiled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at the female behind him.

My eyes trailed over to her. She was wearing a black dress that made her look like just her head was there in the darkness. Her white arms were crossed over her chest, and I noticed she suddenly looked impatient, a scowl across her mouth.

"Hurry up, Dennis." She said, looking out the way I came. "I can hear some sort of commotion back at the house. They probably know we're here. Hurry up and change her."

Dennis scowled again, turning to look at her. "In a minute. I want to talk to her first. If you're so bored go play with them or something." He spat, seeming annoyed.

Gloria snapped her head to look at him, bearing her teeth. "You don't give me orders, little boy. If it wasn't for my passing whim you'd be dead right now." She hissed.

Her bloody eyes focused on me. "I should have just changed her myself that night." She started walking toward me.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Dennis pulled back his lips, bearing his teeth as he watched her come closer to me.

"Don't touch her…" he growled lowly, warningly, eyes narrowed.

Ignoring him, Gloria reached for me and I closed my eyes, backing up against the tree as tight as I could, but I knew I wasn't going anywhere.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash, like stone crashing into stone, along with a strangled sound. I opened my eyes, my mouth opening in a gasp of surprise.

Dennis had grabbed Gloria by the throat and was now holding her in the air. "I told you not to touch her!" he screamed as he shook her, his voice so loud I winced.

I watched, feeling my stomach churn as Gloria struggled in his grip, clawing at his hand and arm, making strangled hissing noises as he squeezed her throat. Her eyes were filled with rage as she struggled, looking down into his face.

Then the forest was suddenly filled with loud howls and growls, and with a wave of crunching snow, we were surrounded by wolves. All of them were growling and snapping their jaws in a crescendo of angry noise, their fur brisling, eyes filled with anger and focused on the two vampires in front of us.

The biggest of the wolves took a step forward, and for the first time, I was truly frightened of Jacob in his wolf form. His claws and teeth were bared, fur standing on end, his eyes flowing with rage. He was nearly frothing at the mouth.

"Jacob…" I whispered, but I was sure none of them heard me over the noise they were making.

Dennis didn't seem to notice the arrival of the pack. His face was still angry, but it was smooth, contemplating. Then his mouth split into an insane grin.

"Why should I listen to you? Compared to Max and me, you're the weakest."

He reached up with his other hand and took hold of her arm, and I instantly knew what he was about to do. Gloria's eyes widened in realization, and she started to struggle more vigorously. But there was no way she was breaking out of Dennis' stronger grip.

"Your brother isn't here to help you now." Dennis said sweetly, still smiling. "Goodbye Gloria."

It was like watching a little boy pull apart a Barbie doll, but a hundred times more horrifying. He wrenched her apart easily, the sounds of crunching stone filling the air. He tossed her limbs away carelessly, one of her arms coming to rest across from my feet, in front of one of the wolves I recognized as Embry. I watched as he snatched it up and crunched it in his jaws, shattering it like a crumbling cookie.

It was silent then. Even the pack seemed shocked that he had just tore Gloria to pieces, like a toy he no longer cared for. Dennis stood there, still holding her head. Her face was still frozen in a look of shock and disbelief. He smiled at it.

"Thanks for giving me a second chance at life, but I don't need you anymore." He said, tossing the head up in the air and making her long blond hair fly.

He then turned back to me, smiling pleasantly, and tossed her head over his shoulder, ignoring the thump it made when it hit a nearby tree.

I was gasping, eyes wide and feeling limp, surprised that my legs were still supporting me. One of my hands brushed the pocket with the hair spray in it, and I swallowed, my throat rough and dry. He placed his freezing cold hands on my shoulders, leaning down to peer into my face.

"Don't be scared, Gwen. She was getting to be annoying, with all her orders and telling me what to do all the time." He shrugged. "That was really all she was good for: nagging."

It was then that the pack started growling and snapping again. Dennis glanced at the one closest to me, Embry, with an annoyed look. And then Embry went flying with a pained yelp. He landed on his side with a crash, his legs waving in the air. He was only down for a second before he jumped up, shaking his head, trying to clear it. I noticed there was a long red gash across his snout as he curled back his lips, bearing his long teeth as he focused his eyes back on Dennis.

I gasped, jumping as the rest of the pack let out a loud angry howl, a few of them making a move toward us, but then jerking back, like an invisible string was restraining them. My eyes wandered to Jacob, and I realized why. Dennis had me backed up right against the tree. If any of them jumped at him, they would hit me too. Jacob was holding them back.

His eyes connected with mine, and I could almost hear him yelling at me, telling me how stupid I was for coming out here. He looked furious and anguished and frustrated, his teeth bared and growls escaping his throat. I felt a lump form in my own throat and the backs of my eyes started to sting. I looked back at Dennis, because I couldn't take looking at Jacob like that.

"What did you just do to Embry? And why did you kill Michael and the others?" I asked in a whisper. I was surprised I could still speak, my throat was so tight and dry from holding back tears.

"Why did I kill Michael?" He sounded surprised that I would ask such a question. He smiled at me sweetly. "Because he was a DICK!" He roared suddenly, punching the space next to my head, causing the bark of the tree to splinter and explode.

I screamed, ducking down and clutching the side of my face as I felt the wood rip at my cheek bone and temple. I heard the pack roar, Jacob's the loudest of all. Dennis kneeled in front of me, smiling again, ignoring the pack.

"As for what I just did to your friend there, that's my power. Think of it like telekinesis…sort of. I can make things explode, or tear, or split. All with just my mind. It's cool, huh?" he asked, peering at me like an excited child.

I looked up him through tears, still clutching my face. Behind him, I noticed white figures suddenly appear from the darkness, taking places around the wolves. It was the Cullen family.

"Dennis, don't do this." Carlisle called to him in a diplomatic voice. "You have to know that once you change her you won't make it away from here alive."

Dennis glanced at him over his shoulder, seeming un-phased. "So are you saying that once I do change her, this pack will kill both of us?" He scratched his head, seeming puzzled, but I could tell it was just an act. "Because from what I read about the pack is that imprints are pretty important." He looked back at me. "Isn't that right Gwen?" he asked. "You're an imprint, aren't you." It wasn't a question.

"H-how do you know that?" I whimpered, pressing hard against my cheek bone. I could feel blood starting to seep out of the small nicks.

He shrugged. "We just kind of figured that the pack wouldn't physically bring you into their circle to protect you unless you were important to one of them. If you were anyone else in the tribe, they probably wouldn't have moved you to a house full of vampires, in order to keep their secret."

"Now I have a question for you." He said, grabbing me by my arm and yanking me to my feet.

I stood shakily, looking up at him. His face was serious, but he looked at me with a gentle gaze, even if it was insane.

"Will you become a vampire with me?" he asked, ignoring the frenzied roars and howls of the pack behind him. "It's an awesome life, Gwen, you'd love it!" he exclaimed, spreading his arms out happily.

"You don't know what it's like!" he exclaimed. "It's like everything you once were as a human doesn't matter anymore! You become stronger, faster, and nothing can hurt you anymore. It's like you become invincible! Maybe you'll even get a power! And there's no one to tell you what to do, or boss you around! I'm sure you'd be a great vampire, Gwen!"

"W-why do you want me to be like you? Why?" I asked, lowering my hands from my face.

His eyes instantly zeroed in on the wounds. Behind him, I noticed Edward's own eyes widen, and the rest of the Cullen's shift feverously, along with the pack. Jacob growled loudly, inching forward, eyes fixed on Dennis' back.

"Because you weren't like the others." Dennis whispered, eyes never leaving my face as he took a step forward, raising a hand to cup my cheek.

"What do you mean?" I asked, focusing on him while I moved my hand into my pocket, slowly.

"You never treated me like everyone else. You saw me. You were always nice to me, talked to me. If you hadn't been with that jerk back then, maybe you could have been with me now." He whispered longingly.

His mouth touched my cheek bone, and I shivered as I felt his icy tongue lick the bit of blood that dripped out of the small wounds there. My eyes went to Edward's, thinking about what I was about to do. His eyes widened, shaking his head in panic.

I closed my eyes, pulling out the hair spray, slowly passing it to my other hand. Dennis moved down to my neck, and I could tell he was drunk on the scent of my blood. I was glad, because he didn't notice when I pulled out the lighter from my pocket.

"I'm sorry Dennis." I said, steeling myself as I felt his mouth open against my neck. "But I never had any intention of becoming a vampire."

As I felt his teeth bite into my throat I lit the lighter, positioning the hair spray can in front of the flame…and then I pushed down on the nozzle.

It happened so fast, even now I'm not sure what exactly happened.

I loud pop filled my ears, along with an intense burning sensation along my arms and the smell of something burning. There were roars, like animals screaming and fighting, and then something slammed into my chest, causing a stinging sensation that felt familiar but one I couldn't place. I felt weightless, cold air rushing passed me, and then iciness engulfed my back, like I had lied down in the snow. It was cold and wet down my front, like someone had poured water over me. And then I felt the burn.

It started at my neck and flowed down through my body in squiggly patterns, washing over me like I was standing under a shower head. It was a pleasant burn, stinging just enough to be uncomfortable, annoying. It was almost like an inch you couldn't scratch.

My eyes were open, but I couldn't see anything, nothing at all. I could hear though, and I was just barely aware of the sounds of snapping and howling, roaring and scuffling, like a bunch of animals trampling around.

I could hear voices, beautiful voices speaking, but I couldn't make out the words. The burning was becoming more intense, especially along my arms, and the wetness down my front colder.

And then even that disappeared, and all I was left with was nothingness.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh my god, I'm so proud of this chapter! What do you guys think? Good? Bad? Please tell me in a review! I worked on it for literally five hours in one sitting, just so I could get it to you for Christmas, so I think I deserve some reviews for this one :)<strong>

**There are still some loose ends to tie up before we end it all. Is Gwen alive? A vampire? And what exactly happened to Maxwell? Find out in the last official chapter of Life of a Wolf-Girl.**

**P.S. What did everyone get for Christmas? Let me know, I love hearing about what people get ^^**


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